Normality Within the Anomalous
by Kate of Carlay
Summary: Everyone in the FAYZ has a story to tell, everyone may not see you as a hero,  but anyone can be a hero. These are the normal lives of normal kids in the FAYZ. Freaks. Normals. Druggies. Con artists. They're all just kids. *POST LIES*
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: This is my first Gone Series story, because really everyone has their own story in every world, and what some people see as important may seem useless to another. So these are the lives of those in the FAYZ who aren't as 'important' as the real characters. **_

_**Takes place right after Lies.**_

_WARNINGS**: Contains spoilers from Gone, Hunger, Lies, and some mentionings from Plague (nothing you wouldn't find in summaries) I would rate this along the lines of PG-13 for swearing, violence, and some sexual content(minor references)**_

_**Any and all feedback is welcome :D**_

_**I am not Michael Grant**_

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

"I said get over it or get out!" Jace's cold blue eyes bore into a boy a little bit younger than him.

"How did you know my hand?" the boy screamed right back.

"Luck."

"Luck my ass, Ace." A boy of average height stood next to the other. "You stacked the deck huh?"

"What are you talking about, Tick? You won two outta five games." Jace was also known as 'Ace' ever since he was the number one player on sports teams and in card games; he cracked his knuckles and stuck his hands in his back pockets.

"Hey guys, let's just cool it, you wanted to play, not his fault you bet your Bertos here." The other boy, Dwight, had long brown hair like most kids in the FAYZ and stood behind Ace.

"I'm closing up anyway, so out." Jace nodded to the door and the three boys wandered out. He needed to shut down his little casino early some days. He used to live in Reno, Nevada, and he never remembered his uncle shutting down his casino early, but Ace didn't have guards to watch the place.

He flicked his blond hair out of his eyes and gave a quick shuffle to the deck of cards. He looked between his fingers, and he could see the prints on the opposite side of cards, an ace of diamonds; his favorite card.

Tucking the card into his back pocket, he scooped up the handful of Bertos he won, and tucked a gun he found in his dad's stuff into the back of his pants, he decided it was time to go shopping.

**~x~X~x~**

Max rattled the plastic crate he stayed in when his owner worked in the tiny plastic house where he grew his veggies. Tiny carrots were starting to sprout up in the little miss matched boxes. Demi patted the crate his little white rabbit sat in. His small hands were caked with dirt from working with his plants.

"Demi," called another voice from their house on Alameda Avenue. Demi's older brother, Will came outside.

Will looked just like Demi, except an older version. They both had the sandy colored hair that Will kept trimmed neatly. Their green eyes were the different shades but Will's were hardened by the burn from the Big Fire on one cheek. Demi was still innocent, and his eyes were soft at eight years old, five years younger than Will.

"Look Will, mine and Max's carrots are almost ready!" Demi jumped to his feet and dusted his hands off on the salty gym shorts he wore.

"Not yet, big guy." Will picked up the crate that Max was kept in and a smaller crate filled with a few tomatoes that were grown and could be traded for some fish, or something. "We need to go to the market, Demi."

Demi grinned but looked at his brother's burn mark on his cheek that he got from trying to protect their house from looters in the Big Fire. "Lemme get my stuff."

"I'll put Max up for you." Will watched Demi run into the house while he followed behind. Will placed Max in a little cupboard they kept him in when they went out to keep him safe from people who would like some fresh meat, he then grabbed a few items from another cupboard. He pulled on his baseball gloves, cleats, and cap before sticking the metal bat through the back of his belt, it kept his hands free and the bat at hand. "Don't forget your helmet!"

Demi ran out into the entryway, dressed like his brother but instead of a bat, he had a batting helmet on his head, the tomato crate under his arm.

"Let's go, big guy." Will watched Demi march out of the house as he locked the door and followed. He wished he didn't have to be so cautious, but it wasn't being around a lot of these people that worried him, it was them being around Demi.

**~x~X~x~**

Kristo's greasy black hair covered up the entire back of his neck as he dug through another empty cupboard. "Come on," he mumbled to himself.

He was always a little on the strange side, but this vice of his was a welcome one with the thugs at his old school. Coates had plenty of druggies, in fact there was one worse with sniffing stuff than him. That weird little kid that always had paint around his mouth, Kristos used to get high with him, but he couldn't quite remember his name anymore.

He found an old white bottle in the back of the cupboard. Bleach wasn't his favorite but it would have to work. He slumped next to cupboard opening the white bottle and giving it a small shake to hear the liquid sloshing around. He poured it into a cup and covered his mouth and nose with it while taking large breaths.

"What the hell?" He looked into the cup and swished it around. He took a swig of the clear liquid and spit it out. "Soap!" He threw the cup across the floor. "Who puts soap in a bleach bottle?"

"Dammit," he cursed as he sat back against shelves and knocked his head back against it once…twice, and then climbed to his feet.

"Now I need to find Howard." He started for the door to head to the Market. "And something to trade with."

**~x~X~x~**

Aerik hoisted his axe up on his broad shoulder. His identical twin sister, Athene, sat on the edge of their little green Coleman trailer. They had the trailer since before the FAYZ, it was for loading their old four wheelers on and drive out to the Stefano Rey to go camping. Now, they fashioned a harness that they could hook up to themselves and pull it up and down from Trotter's Ridge, after they loaded it with as much wood as they could pull. People didn't need it as heat, but it was easy to sell for cooking.

The twins were often referred to as the lumberjacks. It didn't help that their last names were Jack. They were quiet kids that kept to themselves most the time. They were always unpopular in school, they had both been overweight back before the FAYZ and a lot of people had teased them. After that thick barrier came up and food started to run out, they had the advantage, they had more excess weight they could afford to lose. That and all the camping food they had stored was helpful. After all that they were healthy thriving citizens of the FAYZ and were some of the few that were really capable of hard labor, they looked almost athletic.

Aerik sat down next to Athene, sipping some of their water; they had a secret pond back on the Ridge that they drank from. "Are they still itching?" he asked as he watched her rub her arms.

Athene shook her head, her dark red braid swung from side to side. "No, not too much. Just a little when wood chips get stuck."

He searched her dark brown eyes that were identical to his. "You sure?"

"Positive," she told him with a grin and ruffled his tuft of dark red hair."Just let me shake them out a bit."

Athene stood back, away from her brother. She rubbed her hands together and then ran them up to her elbows simultaneously. Thick, spiky, scales grew from her skin, on her right arm faster than her left. Each arm was lined with inch long scales with smaller ones interwoven with them. They were all sharp and strong; perfect for cutting through wood. Athene grabbed a thick pine tree bow and scraped it over each arm, brushing any wood chips out.

Sighing, she retracted the scales much like she had done to get them out. "Much better. Now, no one is going to get this to town but us."

The lumberjacks each strapped on their side holster sitting neatly against their left ribs that they each kept a .45 mm pistol in and helped hook each other into the harness and settled into the daylong hike back into Perdido Beach.

This was just a normal day for the Jack twins in The FAYZ.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: Now come on people, over 30 visitor to the last chapter and one review. Speaking of which, thnak you Bonnie, and that was my goal to make those flawed characters, I want them to be relatable. **_

_**Takes place right after Lies.**_

_WARNINGS**: Contains spoilers from Gone, Hunger, Lies, and some mentionings from Plague (nothing you wouldn't find in summaries) I would rate this along the lines of PG-13 for swearing, violence, and some sexual content(minor references)**_

_**Any and all feedback is welcome. Really there is no excuse for giving some. If you like it, great! tell me why. If you hate it, flame or yell away I may be able to improve :D**_

_**I am not Michael Grant**_

* * *

**_Chapter 2_**

Jace wandered through the market sniffing the air around the 'restaurant' and grinning at the girls behind it. Sure everyone was a bit shaken after the big fire and Mary Terrafino's Big Jump that almost dragged all the pree's to their death. Then of course there was that flash of the world outside. That did more than shake a few kids up. Lot's stepped out after that, some killed themselves.

That wasn't for Jace though. He lived well in this world. He wasn't the best fed, but he ate well enough, after all, sins were in every world. Even the worst of worlds.

He had plenty of money. He had plenty of food because of that, and he didn't have to do a thing.

His smile never reached his eyes. "Hey there, Crissy."

"Ace, what brings you around here?" Her smile reached clear up to her eyes.

Jace knew that she was happy to see him, a lot of people that got his attention were. He wasn't rich like Albert, or Sam, but he was well off with money. He used to gamble food for a little while but now he took Berto's, drugs, and food. When he got some extra attention from the girls who worked, he gave them some of his extra food and attention.

"Oh, y'know. I was hungry. Thought I'd come in." He raised his hand to push his blond hair back but made sure he took in the appearance of Crissy's figure between his fingers while he brought his hand up.

"We don't really sell food you know that. But there is still some fish up for grabs over there, then if you want, I can cook it up for you. By then my shift should be ending and I'm up for grabs." She gave him a very suggestive wink.

Jace smiled, for only fourteen, she was good. "I'll be back, don't go too far."

**~x~X~x~**

"Hurry up, Demi. I don't want to be out after dark." Will kept a tight grip on his bat. He kept a wary eye on the tall blond boy, Ace, while he and his brother walked by.

"Hey, Will, how y'doin'?" Ace sauntered over, arrogant as always.

"Fine. Ignore him, Demi. We gotta be going, Ace." Will took a step around him.

"Come on, Will. You know you're always welcome 'round me. Not tonight, but you could always bring your brother and your little flower patch over, see if you can get something better."

"No thanks, Ace." Will pushed Demi farther ahead, keeping an eye on his brother and the food source.

"Will, can we go play the card game?" Demi's eager eyes tore another hole in his older brother's heart.

"No, big guy. We need some food today, let's get some fish, get it grilled, then we can eat some of the veggies." Will placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and gave him a shaky smile. He wished he didn't have to pay to have his food cooked for him but he was still scared of fire after half of Perdido Beach burned to the ground and the less he had to do with it the better.

It took Will some hard bargaining to keep most the tomatoes so that Demi could eat two meals tomorrow. Then the next day they would both be going to harvest some more cabbage so they'll be well off for food for a little while. Maybe he'll be able to get Demi back up to three meals a day for a little while, then he could get two meals every other day, one on the other days.

He watched Demi carry the half filled plastic crate of tomatoes. If he could just wait a little longer, find someone to watch Demi and Max for a little each day, he could join Edilo's militia. Maybe not the special force, he couldn't leave Demi behind if he had to live in their barracks, but something would be better than anything.

What Will really wanted right now was somewhere bigger to grow their vegetables, that would make both him and Demi happy. They made their purchases of food and services quickly while turning back home in a hurry.

Their walk home was quick but that didn't keep Will's mind from straying. As he thought, he heard a yell. Whirling around, he raised his bat and saw where the yell came from.

His blood ran cold when he saw the older boy grabbing his brother.

He didn't hesitate; he raised his bat and knocked the gangly excuse of a human being off his brother. The greasy, black hair flew out, covering his face as the boy grabbed his side from where the baseball bat landed.

Will put himself between the boy on the ground and Demi. "You okay, big guy?" he asked his kid brother but kept his hard green eyes on the drug rat.

"Yeah," Demi said with only a quiver in his voice.

"Please man, please," begged the boy on the ground. "I just need some food, just a little. Please, dude, I don't know who else to go to."

"So you tweak out on my brother, get outta here, Kristos." Will kept him at a distance with the bat.

"Come on, man." Kristos "Just a couple of tomatoes is all I want."

"No. Come on Demi." Will shoved Kristos back with the bat and kept an eye on him as he led his younger brother away.

**~x~X~x~**

"To hell with him," Kristos mumbled as he walked into the market, he just needed a little something. That's when he saw someone who might help him. "Ace!"

The tall blond was just talking, and laughing with the hot chick at the grill. "Ace, man, help me out." He tried to look cool when he was around people like Ace. He pushed his dark hair back. "A bit of food, or some Berto's, just enough so I can make it to your place tonight, maybe tomorrow." He shrugged his narrow with nonchalance.

"Dude, I'm busy tonight, or are you blind." Ace waved a hand at the girl holding on to his arm and the thing that looked like grilled fish.

"Listen, man, just enough please, I swear I'll play and I'll get someone to come with me tomorrow. I know you can pull more money than anyone out of card games. I'm sure you can make some money off of anyone I bring in, and me."

"You know what, Kristos; you just made me remember that you still owe me money." Ace started to pull out of the girl's grip.

"I swear I'll pay you back, somehow. I just need a little advance so I—" Kristos fell to the ground, holding his nose. "What the hell?" Blood poured out of his nose and down his lips.

"A reminder that you will pay me, or else." Ace flexed his hand that he had used to punch Kris in the nose and grabbed the girl again. "Let's go, Crissy."

Kristos was left there on the ground, bleeding, but a Berto was thrown back to him over Ace's shoulder. He scrambled to grab it and go find Howard.

**~x~X~x~**

Aerik pulled on the harness, glancing over at his sister. They were almost to the market. He would suggest to her that they should just spend the night at home, unload some of the wood that they spent the past four days gathering, just enough to cook with like usual, then continue on to the market in the morning, but he knew the answer. Someone would try to steal it, and make the sale themselves, then there went their fifteen Berto's for the week and the free meal they got from grill's owners.

It's not like they couldn't afford to miss a meal, before the FAYZ they were outcast to begin with, they were fat, and slow. Now, they had lost weight like everyone else, but the difference was that they now looked healthy. They were old, 15 as of the night of the Big Fire, strong, and had a steady income that didn't require them to break their backs in the field. The problem was that the Human Crew knew something was up with one of them, and they lived on the 'Human' side of Perdido Beach but up north of the highway.

"We need to hurry up I hate being left outside after dark anymore," Athene told her twin brother, flicking her red braid out of her face.

Aerik chuckled. "You used to love the night."

"I know, but that stupid Zil and the Human Crew give me the creeps. You know?" She rubbed one of her forearms.

"Yeah I know, but don't worry. They wouldn't bother us."

"They wouldn't bother you, you mean."

Aerik chuckled and shoved his sister's shoulder. "They won't bother either of us. See, this is how it will play out. One will come at us, you'll jump up with your wicked arms, beat that bad boy down, and I'll stand back here and flex and look good, then we'll clean their nasty leftovers out of your scales and be on our way. Ta da."

"Shut up you big buffoon." Athene looked up and saw two boys dressed in baseball gear hurrying away from the market. "Wonder what they're up too?"

"Who knows, maybe we could hire them to act as our guards when we come down into town."

"Yeah then they'll probably knock us out and run. What's the point of having a guard you need to guard?"

"So pessimistic."

"You know it. Let's just get this sold and get some food."

"Agreed.

They stopped at the big grill and unloaded the wood. Athene made small talk with the girl working, while her and her brother tried to ignore the tall blond boy pawing the other girl that worked there.

"You know," Nikole, the girl that they made their sales to begin with, "you could really make a killing if you sold some of this to water boilers too. I mean make more than one run to the trees every week, not by cutting down what you sell me or I'll have to drop the payment." The girl snapped her head around making sure no one was paying attention to her. "They're still burning fences and stuff. After the big fire there is a lot of rubble, not so much fire wood."

"That's a great idea, actually."Aerick took the Bertos in his hand and tucked them into a fanny pack he kept strapped on for just that reason.

"But I want in on your little operation here. You could use a cook, then you could raise your prices so you didn't get a free meal here daily like the boss has set up with you. I can guard and work, and clean, you name it, I just want a fair cut."

Aerik looked over at Athene she looked back. "Let us talk about it," Athene told her.

"We'll get you an answer by tomorrow, Nikki," said Aerik.

With that the twins pulled their mostly empty trailer out of the market back to their home.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note: Sorry I didn't update in a while, I thought I should get things finished and betaed before i kept on posting. SO now it is all ready to go, and there will be two chapters posted until PLAGUE is released in the U.S._**

**_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta :D_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

Jace stretched his arms out across his bed and noticed that something, or rather someone was missing. "Crissy?"

"I told you, we're not open here yet!" a girl screeched from the main room.

Someone pounded on the door. "Let me in! I'll kill that bastard." That was a guy's voice.

Jace knew that voice. It was the guy that gave him problems yesterday. Tick would cause problems with Crissy, and him.

Jace noticed his gun missing off the nightstand, so he grabbed a metal baseball bat with the top broken open into spikes.

"Crissy?" He called coming out in just a pair of gym shorts. "What's going on?" Jace grinned when he saw that under her ruffled hair was a scowl and in her hand was his gun, that's his type of chick.

"Oh, it's Tick. He's back demanding to talk to you, he's got a pipe." Crissy let Jace relieve her of holding the door.

"Let me in you dick!" Tick's fists continued to pound on the door and the boarded up windows.

"Go and get Dwight, tell him what's up, he's in the house right behind me. Get some clothes on first though." Jace smiled at her bare legs beneath his T-Shirt on her body. "Then if you want you can go, if not, my door's always open for you, babe."

Crissy took the bat and handed over the gun and took off out his bedroom window.

"Shut up asshole!" Jace kept his shoulder up against the door. "What do you want, Tick?"

"I want my money back. You're a cheatin' scumbag, Ace!"

"Why do you say that?"

Tick took a minute to reply. "Because no one could figure out what I had 'less they cheated."

That's when Jace heard the thump and Tick yelling.

"Get outta here you dog," Dwight growled.

Another thump followed by an 'oomph' Dwight broke out into laughter.

"Dwight, man, was that you?"

"It was the first time," Dwight chuckled. "The second time was Crissy out here. What a kick!"

"Let us in now, he's draggin' himself off, now." Crissy pushed the door open and smiled at Jace. "You didn't think I'd leave just yet, did you? I don't work until the afternoon shift. You're stuck with me for a while big boy."

"'Bout time you had more than a one night stand." Dwight mumbled from under his long brown hair as Crissy towed a grinning Jace back to his room.

"Maybe you should take the back bedroom so you don't need to come running in all the time. And throw something at my door 'round two, Dwight. We'll open up the Casino, then." Most of Jace was hidden behind the door but he stuck his head out for a moment. "We'll really rake in some cash with her to help us deal."

**~x~X~x~**

Will scowled as he carefully hammered another nail into the window of his brother's bedroom. "I should have done this a long time ago," he mumbled to himself.

"Why do you have to do this?" Demi kicked his feet back and forth from his perch on his top bunk. Glancing around his little room decorated in cars, Demi sighed. "I'm tired of being stuck in here all the time. All the other kids get to go out and play and have fun. You even made me do homework for a week after the FAYZ. The only time we ever get to go out is when we go to the market or to the fields."

"I only do this for your own good, Demi."

"Bu-"

"But nothing," Will snapped and turned on his younger brother. "Are you sick?"

Demi's defiant face turned sheepish. "No."

"Are you Hungry?"

"A little."

"Fair enough. Have you ever been shot?" Will watched Demi shake his head. "You've never even seen the coyotes, or Drake."

"No, Will."

"Exactly!" Will's calm demeanor was a fraud. "You've never had to deal with any of that. I've protected you. I've fed you. I've starved for you. I make sure you can't get sick, I even keep some stuff to bribe the Healer if you were. I cut my portions of food in half so you're only 'a little' hungry. I have even made sure to stay on good terms with the freaks and the Human Crew in case we need help. I've hidden you from the Thanksgiving Battle, the big Freak Showdown, _and_ the Big Fire, _and _you could have been one of the kids that went off the edge with Mother Mary, or the one Drake whipped. Or—"

Will was cut off as a sob broke out of Demi's throat and he threw himself at his big brother. "I'm sorry, Will. I'm sorry. You can have my food. I'm sorry I was mad. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, big guy." Will held his brother. "Don't cry."

"I wish I had powers so you wouldn't have to protect me all the time, Will." Demi clutched his brother's shirt. "I'm sorry."

"No, you don't want to be a freak, Demi. If you were they would make you fight." Will placed Demi down onto the bed. "It would be easier if no one had powers, and safer. But if either of us needed to be a freak it would be me. Then I could keep you safe. Now go take Max to check on your lettuce in Mom and Dad's bedroom."

"Yes, Will." Demi scampered out into the hallway.

Will put his head in his hands. "I need to protect him, no matter what."

**~x~X~x~**

Kristos ran through a back alley, he wasn't really welcome in a lot of the kids' houses.

"Kris, get back here, you little twirp." Two boys chased after him, in his hands was a head of cabbage.

"I'm going to rip you head off you sh—"

Kristos risked a look over his shoulder and saw one of the boys falling face first onto the ground and knocking the second one down with him. He smiled in relief and continued to run as fast as he could. He was on the other side of town and panting before he collapsed on the ground in front of a nice little house.

Kristos looked through a window, still clutching his precious leafy, green orb under one arm. He saw the sandy colored hair and hard eyes looking straight ahead, past everything else in the little room.

Will would be the perfect guy to bring in to Ace. The guy had to be bad at cards, plus a little extra food for his bro wouldn't hurt either. The only problem he might have would be Will refusing out right or backing out of the deal. No. Will was the 'honorable' type. He wouldn't back out.

Before Kristos had even finished thinking about it, his fist was banging on the door. He laughed; it had been a long time since he actually knocked on any door other than Ace's.

"Who is it?" said a voice on the other side.

"My name's Kristos, I have a question for you. A deal."

There was a pause. A long, irritating pause. "I don't want anything to do with you. Go away," said the voice on the other side of the door.

"What about if I could get some more.…resources for you and your lil' bro?"

Another long but reassuring pause. "What are you talking about?"

"Food. Money. Maybe even some security. What else matters?"

"What do you want Kris?" The door opened and revealed a sandy haired boy with intense green eyes.

The corners of Kris's lips twitched up into what resembled smile as the smaller boy maneuvered his way into the house, to Will's dismay. "Please, my closer friends call me Kristos." He stuck his dirty and shaking hand out.

Will looked at it warily, but gripped the offered hand. "William Baker. Will."

"Nice place here," Kristos mumbled as he looked around at the still clean house, a rarity in the FAYZ.

"Get to your point, Kristos." Will kept the younger boy from get any farther into the house by standing with his arms folded over his chest in the entryway.

Kris smiled and pulled out the head of cabbage from under his shirt. "How does this look to you?"

Those intense green eyes widened, the evident hunger flashing like it did in everyone's eyes. "What do you want for it? I've heard about you. We've got bleach, some Febreeze. I've got some other cleaners upstairs. Prescriptions, some old pain killers for when I broke my arm, we never got rid of them. What do you want for it?"

Kristos' eyes took on the same hungry look that was in Will's eyes. Thinking about all those things he could get his hands on. No one really used bleach anymore. Febreeze couldn't get the salt out of clothes. Drugs. Real ones, not that expensive crap Howard sold that was cut so many times you could bake an actual cake with most of it. Ace would shoot him. Literally.

"No, dude, nothing like that. Not today but if you want to give me them as a gift we can say tomorrow is my birthday." Kristos shook his head. "Anyway, no, I just need you to go with me to some place this afternoon. I'll give you a berto and take some, not all but some of your pills and you'll be good."

"No."

"Bu—"

"No."

"It could get you more food."

"How?"

"Gambling. It's Ace's casino. You play five card, twenty one, Texas hold 'em. I can teach you and just for today."

Will stared at him. "I can't take Demi there."

"I'll get him a sitter. Ace's new girl, Crissy, her friends run the grill. She works the shift with that Nikki girl."

"I've heard of her. She looks out for herself."

"But you can trust her."

"You sure?"

"Would I lie?" Kristo questioned.

"Yes," Will retorted.

Kristos looked at him for a moment. "Fair enough." I'll go see if I can find her and then you and I will head to the Ace's."

**~x~X~x~**

Athene stared at the girl who wanted to work with her and her brother. "So, Nikole-"

"Nikki, please."

"So Nikki, why did you bring this idea up with us?"

The girl sighed, her thin shoulders drooping down below her light brown ponytail. She looked up at the bigger girl with gray eyes that seemed sad. "My big brother was killed in the big fire. I have no one but the other kids at the grill, they're all corrupt, and thieves and I hate them. You and Aerik really make an honest living, a good living with as much money as you make. With me working with you, you can get your food cooked and you have an extra hand for guard duty. This way we renegotiate your deals, expand your business and you increase your pay and have enough to cover my wages too."

"I hate to admit it, but she knows what she's talking about, 'Thene." Areik crossed his arms in the doorway of their little out of the way home.

Athene nodded. "I think we both agree with you, we'll have to walk back into town and make the arrangements."

The trio hiked across the freeway and down into the market in no time. The twin's were used to the long treks with their long strides and it was nothing for them being pretty well fed in the past months and working. Nikki, on the other hand was determined to show them she would be worth their time.

The deals resulted in Nikki making more of the negotiating and the twins standing behind her, side by side, with their arms crossed. The girl that ran the grill looked angry at Nikki but there wasn't a lot she could do with the Jack twins at her back. The girls that ran the boiling pot were eager to pay up for arranging wood deliveries so that they didn't have to keep paying those 'wretched boys' who would sell them worthless fence pieces. Despite the past doubts, they made the perfect force; intimidating and wordy.

"Nikole!" someone yelled as the trio was going to get Nikki's things from the house she stayed in with another girl from the grill and her boyfriend. "Nikole!"

A small scraggly boy ran up beside them. "'Bout time I found you. I got a job for you. Ace needs someone to sit a kid brother for a friend of his. He's a 'good' type, wants someone more responsible than the other girls. You up for it?"

"What's in it for me, Kris?" That was the saying of the night, but Nikki folded her arms over her chest staring down at the druggie.

He scowled. "A Berto, just for tonight."

"I've got some extra help, Kris." Nikki nodded to the big twins at her back.

Kris took a large gulp of air and stepped back. "I'll see if Ace can triple your pay."

"Deal."

Athene and Aerik looked at Nikki in surprise, the meek girl they thought she was, was actually a hard negotiating, tycoon.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note: Sorry I didn't update in a while, I thought I should get things finished and betaed before i kept on posting. SO now it is all ready to go, and there will be two chapters posted until PLAGUE is released in the U.S._**

**_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta :D_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

* * *

**_Chapter 4_**

Jace was happy with the night's turn out. In fact he was so happy that he would happily turn over a few of the deals to Dwight. He watched from the couch as a large group of kids gathered around two card tables put together with Dwight at the head, his sleeves pushed up past his elbows as cards flew to different people.

"So, you think your little pet druggie will actually pull someone in tonight?" Crissy was tucked under Jace's arm, watching the game with a smile tugging at her face.

"Kristos Meth?" Jace watched Dwight slipping a few cards out from a slit in the tabletop without anyone else noticing. "He better or else Dwight and I will haul him out to Trotter's Ridge, beat him half to death, and leave him there for whatever wants him."

Someone knocked on the door. Since Jace made no movement to go and get the door, Crissy sighed and pushed herself up off the couch. Going to the door she checked the peep hole. A small, scraggly boy who twitched around stood next to another boy with sandy hair and wore a cap and held a baseball bat.

Crissy opened the door. "Hey, Kris, see you brought a friend. Come on in, your bat goes in that closet or you turn right back around."

The sandy haired boy had a grim look on his face but dutifully handed his weapon over. Kris side stepped Crissy and was already moving around Jace, that always bothered the older boy.

"Have a seat," Ace told the sandy haired boy and waved to an armchair. "You're...Will, right?"

"Yes and you're Ace?" Will sat uncomfortably on the chair.

"Well of course, I run this little fun house. A few more…relaxed girls and I could have myself a really nice place here." Will's face stayed still and he didn't reply. "Anyway, why don't you grab a seat at the table, lighten up and see what you can do."

**~x~X~x~**

Will watched as Dwight's eyebrow twitched up and his face turned red as he watched Will glance around at the other players. Will's money had more than doubled since he started playing. He never mentioned to anyone that Boy Scouts taught you a lot; a few of the Eagle Scout boys enjoyed playing poker with candy bars, and of course Will liked to play along.

"You know, Dwight, I think I should take over for a while." Jace came up and gripped his friends shoulders. A look of cold hatred hiding behind his calm voice. "I feel like I've barely met our new friend here."

"Yeah, you have go, Ace," Dwight lifted himself up of out of his chair to allow Ace to sit down, he glared at Will the whole time it took him to go and sit on the edge of the couch closest to the front door.

The game played on, and on. The other kids at the table got angrier as time passed. After an hour or so in the game Will had tripled his money, Ace was slowly winning it back, and the others would be starving for the next days or hitting the cabbage fields.

"I should be going," Will told them as he spread his cards out and took a few of the paper tickets off the table.

Ace reached out and grabbed his hand. "But you've just got here, Will." His sneer was evident on his face.

"Not yet, Will." Crissy wrapped an arm around his narrow shoulders. "I'd miss you." Her lip dipped a little lower into a pout, following the line of her low cut shirt.

Will's green eyes stared at her and dropped to his feet as a blush started to form on his cheeks. "No, I have to go now. Thanks, I might come by some other time." He quickly pushed himself away from the tables ignoring the glares he got from Jace and the other players.

He reached for the closet door where his bat was stored. Someone grabbed his arm and threw him to the floor. Dwight's long limbs had carried him from the couch to the closet in no time at all. He had his long brown hair tied back, a loose strand falling into his face as he held a pistol up at Will's head, ready to fire.

"Dwight, man, come on. Poor Willy here doesn't know the closet rule. Right, Ace?" Kris stepped between Will and the gun. Two sets of green eyes narrowed on Kris, both Will and Dwight wanted to know what he was up to.

"What closet rule?" Will demanded from the floor.

Dwight huffed and tucked the gun back into his waistband, he shoved Kris out of the way and pulled Will to his feet. "You don't touch the closet. Ever. You ask me or Crissy or Ace if you get whatever you have in there back. Got it?" Dwight shoved his finger into the shorter boy's chest. Will nodded and Dwight handed him his bat before opening the door for him.

Will started to walk away but he heard Kris from inside the house. "We cool, man, right?" was the question Kris had asked.

Will didn't hear the answer, he didn't want to. He had made his money, kept his deal, now he would go home, unlikely ever to return to that place, it had the feeling of bad happenings. All he wanted to do was get home.

**~x~X~x~**

"Right man?" Kris looked over his shoulder where Dwight had just shut the door.

"Crissy, deal this hand for me would y' babe?" Ace stood, his blue eyes cold as he looked at Kristos. "Now, Kristos Meth-"

Kris took a stumbling step back and ran into Dwight's long body. "Oh come on, man I did like you said. I got you a dude in here."

"Dwight," Ace barked and the boy behind Kris pulled him to a side door. The three boys walked into the cold, solid room of a garage. "Now listen to me good," said Ace while he pulled Kris up to him by the shirt. "You're gonna get me some money or something I can get money for."

Kris cringed away from the older boy. "How am I gonna get that?"

Pain surged up through Kris's knees as Dwight shoved him to the floor. Kris stared up at Ace's unyielding eyes. "Please, man, y'know I'll get it for you somehow. Ace, man, come on."

Jace started to turn and Kris began to relax, he would be okay. Then Jace spun around with the back of his and slapped Kris along his face. The young boy's head snapped to the side as pain erupted from his back as Dwight kicked him to the dirty stone floor.

Kris lost track of the blows as they rained down upon him. He stopped yelling and had broken down to whimpers and sobs.

Dwight dragged him to his feet by arm so that he could see Jace through swollen, black eyes.

Ace straightened his own clothes before he wiped bloody knuckles off on Kris's shirt. "You will have my money, _soon_, or this will be happen to again. But worse._ Much_ Worse. Throw him out Dwight."

Kris watched Ace straighten his hair and walk back to where the others were playing cards. Dwight sighed and shook his head at Kris. "Listen, you better just do as your told. Get what you can and bring it to him in a hurry. Now get lost," he growled and threw Kristos out the door."

Kris watched as the lamp light in Ace's Casino cast a few shadows over the lawn. The group of people inside were happily enjoying themselves as poor Kris carried himself off to somewhere that he could get some sleep, and maybe a can of paint.

**~x~X~x~**

"Go fish," Aerik told the little sandy haired boy who sat in front of him on the low standing table.

The little eight year old boy scowled but pulled another card from the deck sitting between them. "Meany," Demi said and stuck his tongue out. "'thene, Aerik's cheating."

Athene chuckled from her seat by the front door. "I wouldn't doubt it, Demi. Would you?"

Nikki shook her head. "He's a horrible cheater."

"Please that's the first time I've gotten to say 'go fish' I this last half hour." Aerik peered down at his cards. "You're the cheater, I can see that mirror on the wall behind me," he mumbled more to Nikki than anyone else.

Athene looked out the curtain covered window. "Someone's coming this way, he's got a bat."

Those couple of words was all it took. Aerik had Demi going into a closet that he stood in front of while he unhooked the strap his pistol in place so he could get to it a hurry while he lifted a up a four by four piece of plywood with a handle smoothed into it.

Nikki made sure the shotgun the twins had loaned her was hidden but in reach, she lifted a crow bar as she prepared to open the door.

Athen hid just on the other side of the door so when it opened no one could see her, she had her pistol at the ready and her bat leaning against her hip.

The knock they had been anticipating cut through the silence that hung in the air. "Who's there?" Nikki called out in a frail sounding voice; the Jack twins knew it was completely false.

"It's me, Will," was the answering reply. The door opened swiftly and the Sandy haired boy came in with his trusty baseball bat resting on his shoulder, his pockets bulged slightly. Athene watched him come and nod to Nikki before he looked in at the living room, all he saw was Aerik standing by the closet door.

The two boys nodded at each other before Aerik opened up the closet door and smiled. "It's your brother, Demi. Come on out."

The eight year old rushed out of the closet, stories brimming on his lips of everything he had been allowed to do.

Will's green eyed gaze landed on him right away. "You should be in bed, and I thought there were supposed to be three of you watching him. You were paid for three people, Kris told me."

Will scowled at Nikki but back down sheepishly as soon as he saw Athene standing behind the other girl with a holstered pistol and a metal baseball bat on her shoulder.

"Will," Nikki stepped forward placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Athene didn't pay much attention to how the younger boy reacted; her gaze was more on her own brother who shifted uncomfortably before he stiffened.

"Aerik, why don't you see to it the Demi get's to bed." Nikki didn't take her eyes off of Will, even though she spoke to Aerik.

Aerik hesitated but with a nod from Athene he dutifully smiled and helped Demi up the stairs.

"Don't worry, Will. All three of us have been here the whole time." Athene smiled gently at the younger teenager. "We won't let anything happen to him, he's a good kid."

"The real question in all this is what are you doing getting caught up with Kristos Meth and Ace?" Even though Nikki's words were harsh, her smile didn't waver. "Will, you're a nice guy. Demi shouldn't be around people like that, and you know it. So what are you up to?"

Athene shook her head at that hard negotiator that came through Nikki. It was like the pressure of a fire hose bursting out of a squirt gun. The names weren't familiar to her though, she didn't spend much time around people, her and her brother were off on their own most the time. "Wait, who is Kristos Meth, and Ace?"

Will and Nikki both look at her like she had lost her mind. "You don't know 'em?" Will was disbelieving. He was not the trusting type.

Nikki pursed her lips. "You don't listen very much do you? You remember Jace Dario, just moved here not long before the FAYZ from Nevada."Athene nodded. "That's Ace. He runs like this gambling den-"

"He calls it 'Ace's Casino'," Will interrupted and Nikki shot a glare at him.

"-he also sells drugs, booze, food, whatever he can get his hands on," Nikki finished, still glaring.

"I'm not getting into drugs if that's what's concerning you," Will snapped. "Nothing bad. I wouldn't do anything like that to Demi. Here." Will shoved nine little paper tickets into Nikki's hand. "Consider it a tip."

Nikki's scowl was firmly in place and could easily compete with Will's for being cold but she nodded. ""We'll be going as soon as Aerik gets back."

Just then, Aerik walked down the stairs, the easy look he had on fell into a hard line when he saw the glare of his sister and felt the tension between the three people. Will wasn't much of a kid, Athene could easily snap him in half, even without her scales, but Will looked like he could easily jump at either of the girls any moment now.

"Shall we be going?" Aerik asked, the girls nodded and started moving toward the door. He offered his hand to Will to shake. "You ever need anything let us know, we'll be happy to help you out in jam."

Will grasped Aerik's hand but didn't really reply to the offer. "Nikki has your tip."

Athene pulled on a long sleeved button up shirt before she picked up her bat by the door. Nikki shouldered her shotgun. Aerik nodded to the young mistrusting boy as he held his wooden weapon and the door open.

In cold silence the three left Demi alone with his callous brother. They heard the door locked behind them as they started their walk north to Jack twins' home. It took them less than an hour to decide Nikki should just live with them in their guest room and to mover her up to their house. The three had an easy friendship and trust built up in much less time than it normally took in the FAYZ.

Nikki walked between them, bearing the weight of the firearm easily but when they saw a small group of kids walking towards them they all pulled together. The kids hoisted bats, fence posts similar to Aerik's, knives, and pipes.

The three shifted together in unison. Aerik lifting his wooden beam. Athene's hands ran up under her long sleeved shirt, scales growing up in their wake before she finally reached her pistol and pulled it out. It was Nikki that kept things from getting out of hand though, all it took was the simple sound of cocking the shotgun that kept both group on opposite sides of the streets and simple glance s over their shoulders as they walked by,

The FAYZ changed a lot of people, making them cruel murderous people. Not everyone was out for the cold blood deaths or burning rage of power. Most kids just wanted to be kids in this world where everything was life or death.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author's Note: Sorry I kind of failed at having all this posted before PLAGUE came out, but it did come out and then I had to read it. Just a a quick reminder that this story takes place between Lies and PLague with no spoilers for Plague. _**

**_DOn''t forget to review, I know people are reading this :D_**

**_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta!_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

* * *

**_Chapter 5_**

Jace paced around his little house. The morning light was casting angry shadows across his features. His cold blue eyes fell upon the still sleeping form in his bed, Crissy. He knew that down the hall was his friend Dwight.

After Will's escapade and card playing abilities, Jace hoped to never see him again. The boy could be trouble, if he had friends he could force his way in and beat Ace at his own game. Dwight had suggested last night after the casino had been cleared out that they should bring in more guards. Jace didn't like the idea of having to pay a couple of guys but he might be able to convince them with a little help from Crissy.

Jace's face curved up into a predatory smile, this was going to be good. He picked up a discarded sneaker and chucked it down the hall at the door that concealed Dwight.

Not ten seconds after the thump of the shoe hitting the door, Dwight's dark head was storming out of the room with a scowl in place and baseball bat held tightly in his hand. "Is it Tick again? I swear to god I'm gonna shove his head up—"

"Chill dude," Jace told his henchman while he flopped down on the couch and rested his right foot on the opposite knee. "I have an idea."

"What the hell is going on now?" Crissy came out of Jace's room. She held Jace's pistol in one hand pointing it straight up in the air. Her hair hand been hastily pulled back into a messy pony tail and she was wearing Jace's T-Shirt and a pair of shorts.

Dwight and Jace both broke into laughter. Jace just grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his lap and kissed her. His lips melding with hers for a moment before she set the gun on the side of the couch.

"Don't worry, babe. I just had an idea." Jace winked at her. "And you're a vital part of it."

Crissy pulled her head back, taunting him. "Oh, and who says I'm gonna play along?" She smirked and kissed the side of his mouth. "Maybe you should tell me more."

"Well do you have any friends that look half as good as you and want some jobs?" Jace rested his hand on her knee.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, I may know a couple but it depends on what you want out of them."

"Nothing too much," Jace told her and slid his hand up a little higher. "Just some serving girls, you know? Walk around carrying drinks. Selling some of my other stuff. Maybe wearing some tight little skirts, and shirts to match of course."

"Of course," she answered in a mocking tone. "And the pay?"

"It'll be good, maybe commission," Ace reassured her with a thoughtful look on his face. "I've also thought that it's better to keep you friends close but your enemies closer." A hard glint caught in his eye, the other two shared the same look.

Dwight cleared his throat to remind them he was here. "While we're handing ideas out here; I know a guy, he's got this plan but he's also got this problem. You see he's a Freak, some dweeb in the Human Crew tried messing with him once and now he's freaked out they're going to come after him."

"What's his power?" Jace tried to ask without care, he didn't want anyone to know that he, too, was a Freak.

"He, like, rots plants."

"What the hell?" Jace scowled at Dwight.

"I know, I know, but he figured something out. You see he can't make plants grow faster, but he makes them like rot faster after they've been picked. He's been working on this still like deal you know, whiskey, dude." Dwight sat up straighter, resting his elbows on his knees. "He can make you whiskey, all you got to do is get the corn or whatever he uses. You can sell it here. Make some nice money."

"How much does he want?" Jace wasn't convinced yet. His head was spinning with ideas depending on what the guy wanted.

"A place to stay where no one will hurt him, and little money, not much." Dwight tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "You want me to recruit a few more guys to be guards, they'll need to stay close, we bunk the dude with them in the house I used to stay in and problem solved. More guns, more drinks, more money," he gave a wink to Crissy, "and maybe more girls. It's every man's dream."

Jace sat back, contemplating all these ideas. They could work. They could work well. "Dwight, go get your dude, and my guards. Crissy, you and I are going to the market. OH, and keep an eye open for Kris."

**~x~X~x~**

Will slept fitfully that night. He hated leaving Demi behind, but he got like this every so often; restless. Pacing back and forth through his house he heard the gentle thump Max made when he moved around in his crate in the cupboard. He couldn't really see anything in his house; the sun wasn't really up high enough to shine through his windows, but he knew his house well enough that he could have gone through it blind folded.

It was silent throughout the FAYZ, no one was really awake at this time, most people slept in. The only sounds were the buses hauling some kids out to pick food in the fields. The distant sounds of motor boats had gone silent ages ago when the gas rationing started.

Will left the little window he had been gazing out of and went to check on Demi. The boy's mess of sandy hair was splayed out on the pillow he rested his head on. Will let a muscle in his face twitch, it hadn't been used in a long time but the quirk of his lips was all he could allow to be the closest thing to a smile for the time being.

He pulled the blanket up higher on his brother's shoulder and went back to watching out the window for some sign of …anything. Some change. Something to relax the restlessness in him.

Before the FAYZ he was an ambitious boy. He was a baseball player; he played third base and had a decent batting average. He was in Boy Scouts. Will was a solid B student, a few A's every now and then. He had friends.

All that had changed though. Boy Scouts didn't prepare you for a world that had been all but turned upside down. The best thing he got from baseball was learning how to use a bat and the gear, of course. School was useless; all it gave him was a year book so that he could a put a face to kids' names that were marked in the makeshift graveyard.

His friends didn't understand him nearly as well as he thought. The few that he had before the FAYZ only caused him pain. One became an alcoholic; the other two were killed in the Thanksgiving Battle.

All Will cared about now was down the hall in a racecar bed.

"Will?" Demi was standing sleepy eyed in the doorway, Max cradled in one of his arms as he used the other to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"What are you doing up, big guy?" Will's stony face softened just a bit as he dropped to a knee in front of his brother. "You're feeling okay, right?"

Demi shrugged. "I was hungry."

Will held back a sigh as he stood up. "Go put Max back in his crate. Get dressed, we'll go wait at the market for the fish to come in." He ruffled hit little brother's hair.

Will's shoulders dropped as he thought about having to dress for battle just to go and get food.

The two boys walked into the market, after a couple of quick words Demi was allowed to go and play in a small section of the park while Will stood and watched both his brother and the stall that sold fish.

He saw very little activity this morning but at least he was out of the house. In his pocket the money he had won at the casino felt hot against his leg. It was wrong how he won it, but it meant food for himself, and more importantly, Demi. The winnings were good last night, but Will had the feeling that Ace wouldn't want to see him in their again, after all every bit that Will won was more taken out of the gambler's pocket.

Will's hard green eyes landed on an interesting scene. The girl that had been at the casino was talking to another girl, Nikki. Jace stood behind his girlfriend, arms folded. Nikki looked much more confident as she shook her head. The conversation continued but it became harsher, more violent, Will was ready to run and grab Demi to make a break for it if a fight broke out. Jace stepped up, scowling at the other girl, his chest puffed up like he was going to hit her.

Then the unexpected happened, two brawny teenagers stepped up, a boy and a girl. Will recognized them as Aerik and Athene, his babysitters; he knew they were tall and obviously backing up Nikki. A few words and Jace stood down right away, looking uncomfortable, probably because he didn't have Dwight at his back being his muscle.

Jace sauntered off leaving his girlfriend's sweet words to deal with the others. When those cool blue eyes met Will dark green, a moment of hatred flashed through them, followed by a scarier look of hunger. "Will, dude, what's up?"

"Ace, nada. Just waiting for the fish to come in," Will explained, glancing over his shoulder to check Demi.

"Have you seen Kris?" Ace asked with an odd look on his face. Will shook his head 'no' and Ace sighed. "I"ll get straight to the point then, I have a proposition for you." Ace stuck his hands in his back pockets. "How 'bout a job?"

"What? What kind of job?"

Ace smirked. "You know your way around a deck of cards, you didn't even cheat. And if you were counting I would've known. You're good. I need a third dealer. Crissy ain't very good at it. Dwight's okay but I like him to be a bit more vigilant at other things. I can't do it all the time." Ace stuck his hand out for Will to shake. "So, what do you say?"

Will hesitated. The money was good, the intentions could be bad. Will didn't have a problem with the card playing Ace did. He just didn't like the other things. Like how Crissy would deliver the card players pale brown drinks, or how she promised them the world as they set their hands down over table upside down only for her to lean in close to the dealer's ear a moment later. The card house Ace ran was dirty, simple as that. But it was money. Money can be dirty, but it turned into food. Food was never dirty.

There was Demi to think of too. He couldn't leave Demi alone all the time. "I have my brother to look after."

"I'll get you the sitters you had the last time. I'm sure they'd be up to the job, Crissy should be talking to them right now, besides I'm sure the tike is easy t' take care of." Ace shrugged his shoulders and glanced up behind Will's own tight shoulders. "Which one is he?"

"He's the one that looks like me. How will I be paid?" Will's mind was still reeling at this thought of hold a solid job for real money. "Like a wage or hourly or what?"

"Commissions. Part of every hand you win goes to the house. You keep part of it and little of the house earnings for the night. After all, if you win all the time, people won't come back," Ace explained and smiled at Will's nodding head. "I'll see to it that part your earnings are withheld and sent to your sitters. Sound good?"

"It's a deal," Will said and stuck out his hand.

Ace smiled like the card shark he was and gripped the younger boy's hand. "Great. I'll send someone over with your work schedule later tonight. Where do you live?"

Will's deal could mean constant food for him and his brother, maybe a little more safety for Max and Demi, but when dealing with a devil you had better make sure someone is watching your back.

**~x~X~x~**

Kris moaned as he rolled over on to his back. Pain surged up form every fiber of his being. He couldn't even find a good house to crash in after Ace and Dwight had beaten him up. He pulled himself to one house only to find a bunch of girls staying in it.

Unfortunately, but happily, he stumbled through the door just as they were wandering around in their little night things that barely reached their thighs and showed every curve of their bodies. He had grinned at that.

Kristos was starting to think this was his lucky day until the shoe hit his head and the rock tore the flesh of his leg. After that, he could barely run fast enough, or far enough, away from the stuff they threw.

Another house he tried had a few guys who had been playing some trading card game on the floor. Two of them jumped up with what he thought were toy swords, but they also had little razor blades stuck in them through the length of the 'sword'. Kristos jumped back in time so that only the front of his shirt had been shredded a little before he ran again.

Giving up on finding a comfortable house for the night, Kristos crept into an old house that was in ruins since the times before the FAYZ, it was miracle it still stood at all. The house really was like him, in shambles in the best of times, yet it still stood, same as ever, in the worst.

He had crept into the dusty old building. He found no furniture except for a moldy old chair. The cushions of it came off so he pulled them over into a corner where he fell asleep. He didn't remember his dreams, he never did.

While the sun streamed in from the cracks in the wall he realized it had to be nearly noon. His body ached, from his beatings and from hunger, and from a different kind of hunger, the kind that could only be filled with the fumes of something.

He had gotten less and less picky about what the fumes were as the FAYZ wore on. He'd breathe in the smoke from fires if he could get anything out of it, but all it did was make him cough. He tried drinking, smoking, and some drugs. The pot was nice, but not the same as a good can of spray paint, and the pot was harder to get lately.

The ache in his back from a bruise got to be too much so he twisted to his side to get a little relief. Sleep was so much easier.

When he was in a good fume induced sleep, he could forget about the hunger pangs, the bruises, the cuts, the bleeding, the money he owed Jace, the stuff he owed Howard, the things he had stolen, the things he has done.

Before the FAYZ he could steal markers, cleaners, or paint from anywhere, no one cared much. Now, he was stealing the food from hungry kids' mouths just so that he could get little of something. A little extra pot or a bite of stolen food would help, a few things worth something so that he wouldn't have the shit beat out of him and be in the condition he was in now would help a lot more.

Kristos just wanted a break. Just a little tiny break until he could step out on his fifteenth. He just had to make it until then, and then he could either be out of this hell hole, or in an endless sleep.

There, he saw something. He knew it had to be something, something good, he wasn't hallucinating, yet. Crawling, or dragging his body across the floor, under an old piece of rotten cardboard was one of his favorite things.

Chisel tipped. Extra wide point. Practically new, barely used. A nice, black Sharpie.

He pulled the cap off the marker as he pulled himself back to his makeshift bed. This would do. This was all he needed for now. He cupped his hands around the thick malodorous tip of the marker as he inhaled every bit he could of it. He would be very careful to put the cap on this before his eyelids fluttered shut.

Not long after he had found his treasure, Kristos' eyes grew heavy, his breathing calm and deep, he placed the cap on the Sharpie and cradled it to his chest much a like a child would hold a teddy bear.

Kristos could make it through another day in the FAYZ.

**~x~X~x~**

Athene stretched her arms up high as she yawned. Morning light was pouring in through her window as she stared out across the little town of Perdido Beach. Her house was out of the way, almost a pain, and almost a blessing. They were never really in the middle of the fights, but then they were never really in the loop either. The day of the Big Fire, her and Aerik had been out cutting wood. They had their Poof Date set then, but it didn't really matter, they were lucky enough to know how to stop it from all the big announcements that people had been calling out for weeks after the Thanksgiving Battle.

They made it through their poofs, Athene first, twenty minutes later so did Aerik. They didn't really know much about the fire until they walked into the market to sell their load of wood. They never saw the smoke through the trees up on the ridge, and all that was left of parts of town were the strips of rubble.

The Jack twins shrugged it off and kept going. They could take care of themselves. So long as they had food they were fine.

They had plans to leave later that day to hike out to the ridge, spend a day cutting wood, and then coming back the next. It should be easier now that they had Nikki working for them too.

Athene walked down the stairs of the house dressed in the sweats and t-shirt she wore to bed. The house was quiet except for someone talking in soft murmurs. She peered around the corner of the stairway to look into the living room. Aerik sat on the couch and, much closer than normal, sat Nikki.

The two on the couch looked happy, smiling at each other and holding back silent laughs as one of them would whisper something to the other.

An aching pang of loneliness tore into Athene's chest. For the first time in the FAYZ, she felt alone. She had become easy friends with Nikki at first. Aerik was her brother, her _twin _brother. Athene had, had Aerik since the moment he was born, they were always together. The FAYZ was bearable because no matter what, he was at her side making jokes, cheering her up. He was the silver lining to her rain clouds. Nikki couldn't just come in and take her brother away from her.

Then she felt the solid lump of guilt in her throat. Who was she to take away any of their happiness, it wasn't their fault she didn't have the same type of happiness.

Athene silently went back up the stairs to get dressed, giving the two a few more minutes of time alone. She made sure to tie her boots carefully before tugging her jeans down around them. She checked her belt twice to make sure it was tight enough to hold up her too big pants. She brushed and braided her hair. Finally, she pulled her leather gloves out of the drawer she kept them in.

She descended the stairs much more noisily than before. This time when she rounded the corner, Aerik and Nikki were on opposite sides of the couch looking in every direction but at each other.

"So are you two gonna get ready or do I have to go to the market before we leave by myself?" Athene told them in her normal tone.

Nikki darted down to their guest room, hurrying to get dressed.

Aerik laughed at his sister and draped his arm over her shoulder. "Oh come on, we don't need to rush _all_ the time." He winked at her and gave small 'oomph' as she elbowed him in the side to make him hurry up the stairs to his own room.

So she hadn't lost her brother yet. That was something. She chuckled at her own folly before she walked out to the fully enclosed and locked garage where they kept their gear.

Athene loaded up their little Coleman trailer, ignoring the ATV's that rested against the back wall, lifeless, the little amount of gas in them that they kept for emergencies sat unused. She tightened the straps that held down the little four man tent they had and the little pack that they put their cooking supplies in, everything from little tin pots to mess kits and a little tub of food they would take with them. She put three collapsible 5-gallon jugs for water on the trailer next to the axe and two-person saw they brought. She finished their supplies by placing a .22-250 caliber hunting rifle on the very front of the pile and tied it down with a bungee. She covered the small stack of supplies with a tarp and secured it all down with rope.

Satisfied she nodded at her own work and turned around; Nikki and Aerik were suppressing laughter at her. "What?"

"Everything has to be just so, huh?" Nikki questioned.

Athene scowled. "Yes," she snapped. "I don't want to lose anything, or forget it, or-"

"It's fine, sis, if it wasn't for you I'd be lost." Aerik teased and handed his sister her holster with her pistol in it.

Athene rolled her eyes and took the item, strapping it on comfortably as she followed the other two. Nikki had a .22 pistol stuck into the back of her pants, she pulled her shirt down over the top of it so people couldn't see it.

Aerik held the door open for the girls as he handed Nikki a bat and Athene a nice long piece of pipe with a rubber handle fastened to the end. "After you," he said as he grabbed his own pipe and locked the door behind him. He offered an arm to each of the girls as he walked between them towards the market. "May I ladies?"

The girls laughed at him but each took his offered arm.

"You are an odd one Aerik," Nikki told him.

"You have no idea," Athene explained to her.

Aerik just laughed.

The trio headed into the market to make arrangements with the water boilers and the grillers to have a half load delivered to each twice a week. Like before, Nikki did the talking, the Jacks stood behind her scowling and looking menacing.

They were getting ready to leave so that they could start their trek out to Trotter's Ridge when some girl called Nikki over to her.

"Nikki," said the blonde girl with blue eyes. "What have you been up to, I heard the boss fired you."

Nikki put a fake smile on as she walked over to the other girl and kept an eye on Jace at her back. "Oh no, Crissy, I quit."

"Really?" Crissy raised her fair eyebrows and glanced at the boy behind her. "Maybe you should look into working for Jace here. He's doing very well for himself. All you would have to do serve a few drinks, maybe hand out a few favors to customers who are willing to pay," Crissy smiled lightly.

"I have work with the Jacks. So, no thanks." Nikki shook her head. She had heard of the 'favors' Jace liked to get from the girls around him. She wouldn't be part of that.

"Mercedes and Chloe both agreed, you really should too, I know there are quite a few boys who would love your attention," Crissy pushed even more.

"Those two were skanks to begin with." Nikki shook her head again, with more irritation. " I told you 'no' once Crissy. I'm not saying it again. Why don't you and your pimp leave me alone, now."

That was all it took, Jace stepped up beside Crissy, his chest puffed up and cold anger glazing over his blue eyes. "You don't talk to her like that, you little bitch." His fists started to double over when Nikki didn't back down to his cruel words.

Aerik bristled right up when the conversation started, now his hackles were raised. A few steps was all it took to get right up next to Nikki, he could see the outline of a gun tucked into Ace's pants, he didn't know how fast the other boy could pull and shoot it, but that didn't matter, he wasn't going to back down on Nikki.

Before any fear could edge into his body, he felt a solid warmth at his side: Athene. He didn't realize that they had stepped up simultaneously. So long as she was by his side, he could take on anyone with her stoic reassurance. She was like a rock to him, no matter how much he flitted from thing to thing, she was always right there. They were like a ship, him the sail being tossed in the wind but he could never get far because Athene was his anchor.

"She said no," the taller girl told Ace.

Ace's blue eyes widened when he realized that both the Jack twins were taller and stronger than him.

"You should leave her alone. Now," Aerik added with just as much ice in his voice as his sister.

"I'll let you handle this, babe," Ace told Crissy with attempted confidence. "I see Will over there, and I need to talk to him." Ace walked away leaving his girlfriend wide eyed in front of the three.

Crissy cleared her throat. "Listen, Nikki, I'm just-"

"I said no. Have fun with your boyfriend over there." Nikki folded her arms, strengthened by the two strong friends at her back, and prepared to leave.

"You remember Will, right?" Crissy blurted. The three nodded. "Well he might need someone to watch his brother again. Would you be willing to do that?"

Nikki looked over her shoulders at the twins. They both nodded. "We wouldn't mind helping Will out if he needed someone to watch Demi." Nikki smiled. "Now, good bye."

"Hey, thanks for that. I'll make sure Will knows." Crissy waved at them and headed over to a group of teenage girls chattering away.

Nikki turned and smiled up at her two protectors. "Thanks, I really appreciate that."

The twins shrugged together in a very unnerving way. "No problem," Athene told her but she noticed the harsh look in Aerik's eyes disappear. "We've got your back."

"Yeah but it's a lot easier talking tough with you two there." Nikki laughed as the they started to head back to their house.

"We better hurry up or we'll never make our new delivery times." Athene pulled them along faster.

"Please, they get mad at us for being late on the deliveries we can tell 'em to go chop their own wood," Aerik waved a hand at Athene.

"While we're at it, we can learn to survive off of nothing but wood and your oh so wonderful hunting abilities." Athene rolled her eyes.

"Hunting? You mean we might get to eat something that doesn't swim?" Nikki perked right up.

"Only if ding bat here let's me do the shooting," Athene explained as her brother made faces behind her back.

Thus, The Lumber Jacks had officially set down the starting roots of a future in the FAYZ.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author's Note: Thank to those who are reading this, but don't forget to hit the little review button, it doesn't take this much, Now I'm cosindering a sequel to this to take place after PLAGUE, but I've gotta know if I should keep it up or not._**

**_Thanks to Atchair for the great review :D_**

**_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta!_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

* * *

**_Chapter 6_**

Jace grinned to himself as he leaned back in his new seat of power. His throne. It took him less than a day to set all this up. He didn't care who ran town; all he had to do was keep up this high rolling community of druggies, drunks, and loose girls. Turned out a lot more boys liked to hang around a place where good looking girls would hang on them and pet them and serve them the pale yellow cantaloupe wine that Dwight's little dude, Sean, brought in.

That twitchy little guy was all but wetting himself as one of the girls Crissy brought in winked at him. Selina had big brown eyes that were lined in heavy black, her thin figure was pretty normal in the FAYZ, but she still had some nice curves that Ace liked to glance at through his fingers.

The only other two Jace liked to look at much were Chloe and Mercedes. Chloe had the dark red hair and sly blue eyes. He caught her sliding her hands down some kid's chest only to have her hands dip into his pockets pulling out a couple of his paper money. Jace laughed to himself over that. Mercedes was good looking but sharp and Dwight started calling her his little 'seńiorita' as soon as he saw her. The little Mexican chick would be good for Dwight; she was tough.

Crissy had managed to pull quite a few girls into this—more than Jace wanted to pay—but it ended up that his genius girlfriend had just suggested they come to see if they could pick up some boys with heavier pockets.

"You're eyeing my friends again, Jace." Crissy purred as she sat across her lap and crossed her legs. "Don't tell me I have to throw them out." she whispered into his ear, lips barely brushing his ear.

"Please, babe," he took his eyes off the activities of his house so he could look her straight in the eye. "I'm trying to figure out how you got to be such a hot babe and still have a master mind."

Crissy's lips pulled into a smile. "I know when you lie, Jace"

That drove him crazy in a good way. That's why all he did was look at these other girls; they couldn't keep up with him or Crissy. "My God, you're amazing." He stood up and Crissy looped her arm with his as he began to wander through groups of boys. It was still early, but they were really filling up.

"Dwight, tell me what's going on," Ace demanded of his right hand man as he stood over a table of players.

"Well, Ace, funny thing just happened last round. Somehow Denny over there managed a perfect Blackjack but one of his cards had the wrong face style on it." Dwight held a card up for Ace's inspection.

Standing next to the dealer's seat, Ace looked at the kind face on the jack. It was not a card he stocked his casino with. "Babe, why don't you take over the dealing here for Dwight?" Ace unwrapped himself from Crissy and the blonde lowered herself into Dwight's empty chair.

"No problem, I'll see you when you get back." Crissy set the deck aside and pulled out a fresh pack from the back pocket of her jeans, identical to the deck she had just set aside. "Alright boys, shall we?"

"Dwight, get a friend or two, grab our pal Denny here, and let's go to the garage." Ace walked out to the garage, with two boys hauling a sweating Denny out behind him. Dwight followed in their wake.

The five boys walked into the cool garage with the concrete floor. Ace was standing like a marble statue in the gray room. The fading light was casting angry shadows across his face as he looked at the scene before him.

Two of Dwight's 'guards' held Denny up between them. Their faces solid, stern, and unforgiving told Jace that they would be perfect for this job. Dwight stood just off to Ace's right, arms folded across his chest, muscles tight.

Denny was the odd man out here. His face was pale and sweaty. His eyes were wild. "I don't know where that card came from, honest Ace." One of the boys kicked Denny's feet out from under him and the kid let out a moan of agony.

"You don't talk unless you are told to," growled the dark skinned guard. Then both guards held Denny up on his knees.

"You don't cheat me. Understood? I'd hate to have to have you wandering the streets looking for the Healer with a broken arm. So let me make this simple for you," Ace told him with his icy eyes boring into the boy. "Dwight!" Ace held up his fist and flexed his pinky.

Dwight nodded and stepped up to the boy grabbing his hand.

"Wait, what's going on?" Denny cried.

"This is to show you that cheating is wrong…so next time you'll think twice." Ace said and a yelp came out of Denny as Dwight pulled the boy to a work bench and spread the boy's hand out.

"Please, no," Denny cried as he watched Dwight pick up a hammer. "Please!" Tears streamed down the boy's face.

Dwight raised a ball pin hammer and brought it down hard Denny's finger. Denny screamed as he jerked madly at the others restraining him. His finger was bent and starting to bruise as a cut opened up and started to bleed.

The boys dropped him and Denny fell to floor, cradling his hand and sobbing. Ace walked up to the boy and prodded him with his foot. Denny looked up through red eyes, sobs still coming out of his mouth.

"You don't cheat around me. You don't cheat _me_. Got it?" Ace leaned down. "Now, one of these guys will be nice enough to help you clean that up and send you home."

Dwight nodded to Ace and helped Denny stand to help him to the bathroom and splint his broken finger.

"Thanks guys." Ace walked back out into his casino. A few people glanced up at Ace with shock or anger but no one said a thing and no one worried about it.

"How's thing's, babe?" He leaned on the back of Crissy's chair.

"Fine, you know. Will showed up while you're busy, he whined for a bit about trying to catch Nikki and her thugs to watch his brother. He wasn't happy."

Ace shrugged. "He'll get over it. Where is he?" Crissy pointed to the kitchen. "Thanks, babe." Ace headed toward the kitchen but stopped when Dwight was leading Denny from the back of the house. "Hey, Dwight. You takin' Denny home?" Dwight nodded. "Good, get him a few aspirin or something for his hand from us. Then take a couple of your guys and hunt Kristos down for me too, would you?"

"No problem, Jace." Dwight shook his head. "Let's get going, Denny. You don't want to be here when Kristos gets here."

Jace walked through the kitchen door and saw Will standing by the table. "Will, you ready to go to work?"

**~x~X~x~**

Will had argued several times with the kid Jace had sent over and then again with Nikki and the Jack twins. Will and the other kid had barely caught the three of them while they were headed out of town. They had scared Will and the guard because as they had caught up to the lumberjacks, the two twins turned around and had guns pointed straight at them. Luckily, Nikki had stayed calm enough to find out what Will wanted and why he had startled them.

Will explained he had a job from Jace and that he needed someone to watch Demi. The three explained to him that they were leaving to go chop wood and waved a hand over the trailer they had been hauling. Will begged them to stay; they refused. Athene had been the one to suggest that they just take Demi with them. He was no trouble and they'd take Will's normal payment for one day when they returned and they'd just put him to work for the other days he was with them.

Will didn't think Demi should work, but in this world you couldn't shelter everyone forever so he agreed and Nikki went back with him to get Demi.

When Nikki and Will got to the house, there was a guard standing just in the door. "What are you, Jace's pet?" Nikki demanded as she walked in.

"No," he snapped. "He just thinks I'm useful."

"Are you a card counter?" Nikki teased him and ignored the glaring guard and Will.

"Demi!" Will called as he went to find his brother. He found his brother with Max by the back cupboard. "Listen Demi," he said and petted the rabbit. "Do you remember Nikki? Well she's gonna take you on a camping trip with some friends of her's."

Demi's green eyes brightened, "Really? Do we get to take tents and—"

"Not us, big guy. I've got some work to do here." Will tried to not see the look of sorrow in his little brother's eyes. "But you'll be back in just a couple of days."

"Can I take Max?"

"No, you don't want to lose him. But maybe you can find some dandelions or something for him to eat. I'm sure he'd like that. Wouldn't you Max?" Will picked up the rabbit and cradled him in his arms.

"You'll take care of 'im right, Will?" Demi looked sad, but Will didn't like leaving him here, and besides it would do him some good to get away from all this for now.

"Of course I will. Now pack a backpack: a full water bottle, a change of clothes, and socks. Wear your hiking boots and pack your baseball stuff." Will ruffled Demi's hair and placed Max and his crate back in the cupboard. He had a million things running through his mind right now. His biggest concern was Demi right now.

"Hurry it up, Will. I don't have all day." Nikki sighed as she stretched her arms out on the couch. "We wanted to be gone by now."

"He's coming," Will told her. "I just had to explain."

Nikki pursed her lips as she looked at the boy in front of her. "He'll be fine, you know. We'll have a good time together, I promise. Aerik and Athene are good people; they basically avoided this whole mess down in town. They didn't even know about the fire when it hit."

Demi came down the stairs with a backpack on, a baseball helmet in place, and a pair of batting gloves sticking out of his back pocket. Will grabbed a sweater and tied it to the back pack.

"Behave. I'll see you soon, big guy," Will said as he gave his brother a hug.

"I will," Demi assured him with a shaky smile.

Will watched them both leave, his eyes getting harder with every step they took away from him.

"You need to be to Ace's casino by dark or someone will come looking for you. I don't think that will be a good thing." The guard nodded to him and left.

Will looked around at his empty home. He didn't know how some kids lived all by themselves without a care in the world. He flopped down on the couch and wondered how they could ever be responsible for no one including themselves. Will sighed and tried to lay back, closing his eyes, just to rest them for a minute.

His eyes flew open, he had thought he had fallen asleep but when he looked around he had realized almost no time had passed. He shoved himself up and paced around the house. Checking to make sure some of the windows that he had covered up with wood were still in place, then making sure the backdoor was locked and bolted. Finally, after wasting no more than half an hour he decided he might as well go to Jace's.

When he knocked on the door, one of the guards opened it and let him in. Crissy was sitting at a table dealing cards, and another girl was dealing a hand set up for Texas Hold 'em.

"You can put your bat in the closet now," Crissy told him. "Since you're a dealer now Jace'll let you." The girl never even looked over her shoulder.

"You know, it took forever to catch up to Nikki. You could have warned her I needed them tonight." Will placed his bat next to several others in the closet and silently thanked his father for having him put his name on it.

"Get over it." Crissy flipped a few cards out of the deck while she sent a wink in some guy's direction.

"You guys were supposed set all this up really easy for me," Will snapped back. "I can walk out that door right now.

Cold blue eyes slowly moved up from staring at the table to meet Will's stony gaze. "If you're so confident in that, try it," Crissy said with more venom than a cobra.

A boy twice Will's height and weight stepped in front of the door, arms crossed and glaring at the sandy haired boy.

"You don't screw with Ace; you don't screw with me. You'll be happy to work here or you'll be in no condition to leave. No how does that sound, Will?" Crissy gave him a smile like a snake's.

The hard glint in Will's eyes crumbled, if he was hurt, he couldn't work. Both he and Demi would starve. He broke her gaze and his eyes found his feet.

"Good, you can wait in the kitchen." Crissy pointed towards another room. "I'll tell Ace you're here."

Will nodded, irritated with the blond and himself. They were using him, and he figured it out too late. They were going to walk all over him and there was nothing he could do about it. Following orders, he walked through the doorway and into the kitchen. He sighed as he flopped into the chair by the table and leaned his chin on his hands. He couldn't help but wonder why he was doing this. Then those green eyes watching him with admiration made him scowl at himself. Whatever it took he would do to keep his little brother safe.

"_Ahhhhh!_" a scream pierced the air and Will jumped to his feet.

Will stared at the door way and heard Jace coming towards him.

"Will, ready to go to work?" Jace asked as soon as he came in.

"What am I going to do?" Jace shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You're dealing five card draw. I'll watch you for a while…see how you do." Jace pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket and handed them to Will. "This is your deck, don't lose it, and don't get any extras. We all have the same type so I know if people are cheating. You check them in and out from me. Got it?" Will nodded to Jace's question. "Good, let's go."

Jace sat Will at the seat where Crissy had been. Quickly Will shuffled the cards and allowed the boy next to him to cut the deck. Jace's steely eyes bore into Will and his every move. Will felt like with every twitch of his wrist, Jace's eyes were seeing the cards in his hands and every thought in his head.

After a few hands were played, Jace went to sit on the couch with Crissy. Not long after Will's boss had left him, there was a commotion out the front door. Dwight, Jace's friend, and some other boy Will had seen around pulled Kris through the door.

The greasy haired boy thrashed his feet and had a death grip on little black marker in his hand. Jace stood up as soon as they came in.

"No, man, please just a bit more time I'll get you your money," Kris pleaded with Ace.

"To the garage with him," Ace commanded his guards.

"Wait! Will, Will man. Please help me, I've helped you before." Kris threw himself on the floor and grabbed Will's leg. "Please help me. I-I…I'll do anything for you, just help me come on, dude!"

Jace and Dwight both looked at Will, waiting to see if he would vouch for the druggie. Will stared down at the sobbing boy who had been battered before, yellowing bruises fading on his skin, tears dripping from his eyes.

Will kicked the boy. "Get off me."

Dwight and the other boy pulled Kris off into the garage and Jace followed them. Then the screaming began. Horrible blood curling screams and pleading. One of the boys got up from the table, slapped his cards down, and all but ran out the door. No one stopped him.

Will kept his head, he didn't comment; he kept his eyes on his work and his hands busy. After what felt like an eternity but was really only a couple of hands, Jace finally came out of the garage. Dwight followed him and the other boy drug Kris out the front door.

"How's the game, boys? More drinks?" Jace leaned over Will and motioned for a couple of girls to bring out a few glasses. "This round on the house as an apology for the disturbances."

That was how Will's night went. He made to win about half the hands. When he purposefully lost hands to certain kids, he saw Jace giving him the slightest nods of approval. It was easy work and when he started thinking about how much he had been making, it made him even happier. He could have two meals a day, Demi three, and they would each have good meals—not half portions or anything small like that.

That was until the knock on the door. Dwight opened it and Kris came in. The little druggie looked horrible, one eye was swollen shut, two fingers were bent funny, and there was blood dripping from his mouth. Kris handed Dwight a wriggling little package. Dwight turned his back and showed it to Jace before taking it to the back of the house.

Jace smiled at it and nodded. "You're off the hook, for now. Want to stay around now, Kris?"

Kris's dark head shook and his eyes found Will's. There was a dark, cynical look in them as he stomped out the door.

"Oh well," Jace shrugged.

The night was easy after that. Will even started to have some fun, forgetting that he was doing this just to take care of Demi. Finally, with a big grin and a bag of money, Will went back to his house. He didn't even notice how quiet it was or that Demi wasn't there. He should have felt bad but he was intent on taking care of Max and going to bed.

He opened the cupboard and that when he saw the empty crate.

**~x~X~x~**

"I can't believe he catches us just as we're leaving town. We're not going to be up at the spring until after dark, and it's going to take even longer to find it." Aerik's shoulders slumped as he sat on the edge of trailer near the harness.

Athene tightened her grip on the shotgun she held. She stood in the middle of the trailer making sure none of the kids that had walked by got any ideas about the trailer of supplies. "That won't be the worst of our problems if they don't hurry up."Athene watched two boys and a girl walking towards them. She couldn't see what their weapons were yet, but she knew they would have them. "Stand ready, would you?"

The twins had been attacked before, just after the FAYZ began. The people trying to beat them up for just walking to close to their house had been kept at bay. That was one of the reasons they avoided town and why they kept their pistols with them. Most kids didn't want to try their luck against a gun.

"Whatcha got there?" A red head asked Athene.

"None of your business. Why don't you keep moving," Aerik stood and lifted a baseball bat. "We don't want trouble."

"Where you two from?" The girl demanded.

"None of your business, or did you not hear?" Aerik snapped again.

The three kids came right up in front of Aerik. "Why don't you get lost and no one gets hurt," said the tallest boy with a long knife in his hand and pointed at Aerik's stomach.

The boy looked up, almost startled since he all but forgot that Athene was there. A heavy weight pressed down on the tall boy's shoulder. Athene met his eyes as she stared down the barrel of the shotgun. "Back off."

"Yeah like that things really loaded," the boy scoffed but swallowed hard.

The sound of a pistol being cocked came from behind the kids. "Maybe her's isn't but mine is," said Nikki. She was followed by Demi, her eyes were calm and cool.

The kids ran; they didn't even bother shooting any remarks back. Two loaded guns pointed at them were enough to make them run.

"Chickens," Nikki smirked and watched as Athene secured the gun back into place and Nikki helped her strap into her side of the harness.

"Aerik!" Demi ran up beside the boy. "Are you gonna play with me?"

"As soon as we make camp." Aerik ruffled his hair and the twins pulled the trailer into motion. Demi and Nikki followed along; Nikki kept an eye on the area around them until they were quite a ways away from the city.

Demi enjoyed his time with them. He would laugh at Athene's jokes and help the girls tease Aerik. All the while the hike went by easily. Before long they were setting up camp.

Aerik and Demi set up the tents while Nikki unloaded the supplies from the trailer.

"Are you going to start a fire, Athene?" Aerik called.

"In a sec', I need to get some wood first." Athene rubbed her hands together and ran them up the length of her arms from wrist to shoulder and back down simultaneously. Thick scales sprouted from her skin, a combination of dull, flat scales, with sharp pointed ones in between.

Nikki gasped and fell backwards as she stared at Athene.

"Nikki, what's wrong?" Aerik demanded and jumped to her side.

"Nikki?" Athene took a step closer to her and the other girl scooted away.

Nikki flinched from Aerik. "D-Do you have the…the things?" She flicked her fingers towards Athene.

Aerik shook his head. "No."

"D-don't get near me with those," Nikki stuttered at Athene. "They're creepy. All you moofs are creepy."

Athene stepped back, a hurt look on her face. "How do you think we saw so much wood? I'm not bad; this is just what I do."

"You're a moof, okay? I just need some time to...to get my head around you." Nikki stood up and wandered slightly away from the others, a little ways off into the forest on Trotter's Ridge.

Athene was hurt after that. Aerik was confused. He went to comfort his sister but she shrugged him off and wandered out to get few branches. Aerik turned his attention to Nikki but she shook her head and ignored him. Aerik gave up and went back to the camp to play with Demi. Athene had started a fire and wandered off away from the others.

Aerik sighed when he heard a tree crack and fall in the distance. "They're both upset. Great," he told Demi.

The boy just stared at him with his big green eyes.

"Athene will work all night. Who knows what condition she'll be in come morning. Nikki. I have no idea." Aerik shook his head. "Do yourself a favor Demi: stay away from every girl you ever meet."


	7. Chapter 7

**_Author's Note: Thank to those who are reading this, but don't forget to hit the little review button, it doesn't take too much effort. Now things are strtign to come to end in this. ONly two chapters after this, and then I have the sequel getting ready to go. So feel free to let me know if I should stop or not._**

**_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta!_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

* * *

**_Chapter 7_**

Jace spun Crissy into his arms as they both fell onto his bed, a smile pulling across his face as he tugged her closer to kiss her firmly. She laughed as they hit the bed.

"Tomorrow I'm not opening up the casino," Jace told his girlfriend. "I'll have a full watch set up around the house and you and me will eat 'til we're bursting. We can cook up that rabbit over some hot coals, shred up some food. We'll eat good, babe, I promise."

"Oh you're going to spoil me now?" Crissy teased as her blond hair fell on to the pillow at her back.

"You know it, babe. That Kris came through and paid me off pretty well. Some real meat will be good and worth the trouble he caused me." Jace fell off to the side of her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"That little rabbit will make quite a night for us tomorrow, I'll promise you that." Crissy leaned up over Jace before her lips came crashing down onto his.

**~x~X~x~**

Will silently watched one of the guards surrounding Jace's house. There were only two boys watching the house with baseball bats in hand. The other guards all slept in the house out back. He couldn't let this happen to poor Max. It would take too long to prepare an animal for food, Will had thought about that before, so Jace wouldn't have it cooked today and he wouldn't want to share with anyone. A few pieces might be thrown out to the guards but that would be it.

He carefully crawled on his belly until he was just below the window before sliding the glass pane up out of his way. Will crawled through window and started to step through the house but the floor boards squeaked with each step. The house seemed much quieter when it was filled with loud people. Now that it was empty, the house screamed with every step.

Will heard laughing and giggling coming from a room down the hall. He guessed that it was Jace and the blond snake Crissy.

He hurried down to the back of the house, trying to stay silent. He found a closet full of boxes and there was a larger plastic box on the floor with holes punched into it. Will opened and found a little white rabbit happily hopping in it.

Will glanced over his shoulder, closed the plastic tub and ran for the window. In his rush a lamp crashed to floor and made Will fall to floor too.

"What the hell?" someone yelled from down the hall and Will's face paled. He jumped out the window and took off running down the street.

"Get that kid!" one of the guards called out by the Door.

"You! Go get the others," Jace demanded but Will didn't stand around to see who he was talking to. He ran.

Will's legs pumped hard as his sneakers slapped the ground and he was thankful for his years playing baseball. He had no idea where he was going to go, but with a rabbit in a box under one arm, no ideas in his head, and several armed boys chasing him, he ran.

**~x~X~x~**

Kris stumbled along the road. He couldn't believe that Will sold him out like that. Kris had risked his own skin when he was in boiling water already with Jace when Will needed help. Kris snorted and kicked a rock down the empty street. He thought it was good thing Will had that dumb rabbit. Kris might have traded it for more, but he wanted Ace to take it and cut it up and serve it to his little puppy dog, Will. That would show the stuck up jerk, Kris thought.

Then Kris' ears perked up when he heard shouting.

"Over there!" Kris knew that voice; it was Ace.

"You sure? We don't want to lose him." That was a calmer voice, Dwight.

"Of course I'm sure," Ace snapped. "Now get your guys and get over there.

Kris silently laughed to himself. It was about time someone else got the beat down from those guys. The footsteps were starting to get fainter, moving away from him. It sounded like someone was running towards him but he wasn't sure. That's when it hit him.

A sandy haired boy dressed in a baseball player's helmet and cleats ran straight into him, the bat the other boy had been carrying clattered to the ground making a huge noise.

Kris shoved Will off, adding a kick to the shoulder for good measure.

Will's hard green eyes saw who he ran into a crazed look crossed into his eyes as he grabbed his bat and scrambled to his feet. "Kris, you idiot I told you to run the other direction, now they'll find both of us!" Will said much louder than necessary.

"Will, you ass!" Kris shoved at him. "Now—"

"They're this way. It's Will _and_ that scumbag Kris!" Dwight yelled and the footsteps started to get louder.

Will smirked. "You better run Kristos Meth. They catch you; you might not be able to take another step in your life." Will took off running towards the highway.

Kris stood there, dumb struck. What else could he do? Betrayed by the same guy twice. Kris had every intention of playing Will's little game too. "Will, go towards the highway, you could hide up there!" He hoped his voice carried back to Dwight and Jace.

Kris took off running. He might be forgiven for being framed if he helped them catch up to Will, and if not he just make sure they could find their way to Will.

If Kris was going down, he was going to see Will go down too.

**~x~X~x~**

Aerik had finally gotten Demi to sleep near the fire that Athene had built. He hadn't seen his sister; the most he heard was the occasional log falling or the sound of wood cutting. Nikki had finally returned to camp and she remained silent as she stared into the fire and nibbling on the cooked fish wrapped in a cabbage leaf.

"She was scared at first," Aerik told the girl. "She was really scared; she thought she was going to end up like that Orc guy."

Nikki looked up at him, confused at first and then she nodded. "He's really creepy. It wouldn't be so bad to look at him if he was all rock, but to think there's a human under it all…" She shivered.

"Well, Athene is human under it. It's just like an extra layer of protection."

"What is it that she has anyway? Rocks? Or…or...what?"

Aerik shrugged. "We're not really sure. We think they're like scales, we thought it was like finger nails at first because it started by spreading up from nails. Then it covered the palms on her hands." Aerik rubbed his hands together, thinking of his sister's transformation. "Then as the days went by it grew up her arms, getting thicker and stronger and spikier. Then one day we were building the harness for our trailer and we were using an electric buzz saw. I slipped and it went right across her hand. I freaked out, I thought I had just killed my sister, but her scales and shot up, thicker than ever and they went clear up her arms to her shoulders. They were really weird that time, but the saw didn't leave a mark on her and they wouldn't go right back down like before." Aerik looked up and saw that Nikki had gone pale.

"She couldn't hold them out?" Nikki asked.

Aerik shook his head. "Maybe for a minute or two, but that was it. That time though, they wouldn't go back. She yelled and threw stuff. Angry at her arms, at me, at everything really. She tried to cut them off with a hack saw but it just made them sharper. She pulled at them and tried prying them off, it was awful, and she made herself bleed where she cut at them where they met her skin at the shoulder. But the more upset she got the higher they grew. She started to cry and tell me she didn't want to be like Orc. I don't remember how long she cried but finally they started to go away. When she finally calmed down, they were gone."

"Is it like that all the time?" Nikki looked at Aerik; he could see that she was starting to understand it was something Athene couldn't control. "Does it take forever for them to go away?"

"No, Athene has gotten really good at controlling them. She can only cover her hands, or her finger tips if she wants, and they spread all the way up to her shoulders. If she had known they would have frightened you she would have started small just to explain, not gone full lizard girl on you." Aerik chuckled trying to make Nikki smile.

"I'm really sorry about that; I don't hate the freaks, really. It just kind of scares me you know, it's hard getting used to." Nikki scooted a little closer Aerik so that their shoulders were touching,

"It's fine. Now we've just got to get her to understand that."

"Should we go look for her?"

Aerik laughed. "No, she'll work all night and we might walk under a falling tree, it would be best if we just follow the trail of chopped wood in the morning, I can pull if you and Demi load. Then we can head back into town early."

Another crash echoed through the woods, Nikki jumped at the sound. "I will apologize in the morning though."

"I'm sure she would appreciate it." Aerik looked over at the distraught girl next to him and carefully placed his arm around her shoulders, holding his breath waiting for her reaction. Nikki didn't pull away; she relaxed into his embrace and let him hold her. Aerik let out the breath he was holding.

"You know, if you don't mind all the weird stuff about me, we could be a…well an us," he said really quietly, so quietly that he wasn't sure she heard him.

There was a pause, not long, but enough to awkward. Nikki looked at him, her eyes questioning him, it was a look he didn't see on her face very often, she was unsure. "Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

Aerik's mouth went dry as he looked Nikki right in the eye. He didn't know what she would say if he told her yes. He just knew he really liked having her around, and he liked spending time with her. If her being his girlfriend was what it took to keep the feeling he got when she was around, then that's exactly what he wanted. Aerik realized his hand shook slightly, but he nodded. "Yes."

A small curve formed on Nikki's lips. "I'd like that a lot," she told him in the orange firelight. She leaned in to carefully place her lips against Aerik's.

As Athene thundered through the woods, considering the possible end of a friendship, back at camp there was the chance of a new beginning.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Author's Note: Thank to those who are reading this, but don't forget to hit the little review button, it doesn't take too much effort. _****_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta!_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

* * *

**_Chapter 8_**

Jace's feet hit the ground hard as they ran over the broken terrain. They had been running all night and were slowly closing in. After all, it had been Jace calling the pace. He had been a track runner for distance way back before the FAYZ. He could keep this up all day if he had to. Will was a ball player—good at sprinting but past twenty yards and he was doomed. Kris was no athlete, ever.

Dwight stopped a few yards back, leaning on his knees and gasping for breath. "Jace, dude, we gotta hang back a minute. Me an' my guys are gonna keel over."

"Can't we just call it off and wait until later. We can find him another time," begged one of the two guards that Dwight and brought along.

"No," Jace snapped. His eyes were icy and froze each of the boys he stared at. "We will find them today. I want that rabbit tonight! Got it?" Jace started to jog back into the woods. "Now come on and move it!"

The boys pounded through the woods, the hounds on a hunt.

**~x~X~x~**

Will gasped for air as he collapsed near a tree. Kris was next to him. They had both given up long ago on shoving and hitting each other. Will was determined to get away. He didn't know why, but he thought if he could get far enough out of town, they would stop chasing him. He was doomed, he knew it, but he couldn't give up. The little plastic bin sat next to him. Max was tired of being jostled, but Will didn't dare leaving Max behind somewhere.

"Why do you even bother with that stupid rat?" Kris demanded.

Will glared at the other boy. "I'm not leaving him behind. Why don't you drop dead?" Will climbed back to his feet, hoisted his bin back into his grasp, and took off running again. The crashing of feet thundered closer and it was more fear than stamina that made Kris hop to his feet and sprint off ahead of Will.

Will pushed himself harder to catch up with the druggie. He couldn't fall behind; if he did, he was going to be beaten.

He heard the bang and fell to the ground in shock. BB's ripped a whole in trunk of the tree above Will. A screech came out of both Will's and Kris's mouths. The other boys weren't aiming to hurt them. They were aiming to kill.

Will jumped to his feet and ran ahead, driven by a new fear. He leaped over a log and slid down a small ditch crashing into someone and knocking them both to the ground. Will looked wide eyed into what he thought were the cold blue eyes of death. Instead he saw warm brown eyes and a concerned face.

"Will?" Aerik asked. "What's wrong? I thought I heard a gunshot."

That was when the sound of shotgun flared again just above the boys. Aerik threw Will to the side and crawled behind the tree while he pulled his pistol out of his side holster. He slid the top piece of it back, loading a bullet into the chamber.

"What are you thinking?" Aerik demanded. "You know we have Demi out here and you lead people shooting at you to us? I agreed to watch him. Not you!"

Will had crawled on his belly over to where Aerik sat, fear making his blood run cold. "I didn't know, okay? Where is he anyway?"

"You can't hide, Will," Jace yelled as he slid down into little drop off. "Now give me that rabbit!"

"There!" one of the guards yelled.

Then a loud bang of a gun rang out deafening the boys momentarily. They heard the cry of pain though, and it was followed by another shot and cry of pain.

Will looked up through the leaves and a feral cry broke out of his throat. Demi was on ground. Above him stood Aerik's sister being held up by Nikki, who stood a few feet away from him with a look of death in her eyes as she lowered the pistol she just fired.

Will ran to his brother, ignoring the threat of bullets, when the wooden baseball hit him in the forehead and he fell into a world of darkness.

**~x~X~x~**

As soon as Kris hit the ground, he had started to scramble away. Will was all tangled up with that Aerik guy, the rabbit was at their feet in its crate, and the mob chasing them was about to be on them.

That's when the shotgun peppered the tree bark. One of the pellets ricocheted off the rough tree and Kris hissed as he gripped his ankle where the shell had embedded itself.

Kris wasn't going to wait around to be shot. Ignoring the pain, he ran in the direction opposite of Jace and Will.

**~x~X~x~**

Earlier that morning, Athene and Nikki had made amends while they loaded the trailer. They were hoping to get back into town where they wouldn't be in such close quarters with each other. Athene was still edgy around the other girl, but things seem to be okay for the time being.

When they heard the gunshots, they really wanted to get out of the woods, but they also didn't want to be walking straight into the fire. Aerik and Athene had agreed to check out where the gunshots were coming from. Nikki was supposed to be stay by the trailer with Demi to act as a guard.

Aerik moved in one direction. Athene had taken the other, but after the sound of a shotgun was so close that she could all but feel it, she took off running towards where her brother was. The freak knew he would need her help going up against someone with a shotgun.

She thought she was too late though, when she came to edge of the little drop off. Aerik was lying behind a tree, his gun raised and the marks of a shotgun above him. She cocked her own pistol and started to step forward, ready to confront the blond menace and his cronies who were advancing on her brother.

Demi shot out of the woods behind her, Nikki was right on his heels. Athene briefly wondered what would make the young boy run into death when she saw the other sandy haired boy lying in the leaves.

One of boys that had come with Jace began to raise a handgun as he yelled "There!"

Athene reacted quickly, much more quickly than she thought possible. She jumped out from her hiding place, shoving Demi to the ground, and standing in front of Nikki. There was a mix of pain as scales shot from her flesh, tearing holes in shirt as spines exploded from her skin. The thick mass of scales that lined her arms had enveloped her chest and throat with two thick spikes protruding out from her shoulders. It happened faster than she could have ever remembered and the pain of them ripping out of her skin left scratches and made her bleed.

Then the bullet slammed into her chest at point blank range, knocking the wind out of her as she slumped backwards. Nikki caught Athene as she fired a shot above Athene's head back into the group of boys.

Aerik jumped to his feet and fired off two shots. Like Nikki, neither of them actually hit anyone but it made the guys step in with blunt weapons raised. Aerik deflected the tall boy who used the shotgun as a bat and tackled him to the ground.

While Aerik brawled with him, Demi had grabbed Will and was dragging him out of the mess. Nikki had dropped Athene when Aerik dove in to fight. Leaves flew up in every direction as Nikki raised her gun again, but a rock caught her in the stomach. She doubled over in pain and a foot met her head as she was bending in half. Nikki fell to the ground, unconscious.

Another one of the guards jumped on Aerik as he punched Dwight in the face. The guard's face took on an ashen hue when Athene stood up. At the end of both scaly arms was a fist with thick spikes across the knuckles. He was brave…but not that brave.

Athene swung at the guard. When the boy ducked, her fist hit the tree behind him and a large portion of the bark had been ripped free. Jace raised his own pistol to Athene's face but the girl swiped at it, knocking the firearm to the forest floor. Her open and scaled palm managed to slap him but, for good measures, she kicked Jace and tackled the guard who was her original target.

Aerik was thrown to the ground. Dwight was lean, but it was all hard muscle. The dark haired boy slammed his fist into Aerik's jaw and the Jack boy's face whipped to the side from the force.

Aerik kicked out but the other kid had grabbed onto his legs, making him nearly immobile.

Athene shoved the boy into a tree, grabbing the back of his head and hair. She slammed his face down into the ground several times as he tried to get away. It was useless though; she had one knee pressing down into his back and one of her arms twisted his up behind his back making him screech.

"_Everyone stop!_" Jace bellowed. His blond hair was a mess; his shirt which was already sweaty was now covered in leaves. Bloody tracks were across his face where Athene had hit him. "Dwight, let him go," he commanded. "Get off him now!"

Dwight looked at his boss and friend in confusion, but he dropped his hold on Aerik and stepped away. The guard did the same. The boy Athene held still screeched in pain.

"Let him go. Please," Jace said through gritted teeth as he watched Athene.

Athene glared him. "Why?"

"Because otherwise, she'll shoot me," Jace's voice was measured and even as each word was spoken carefully. "Now please. Stop the fight."

Everyone had finally noticed that Jace's arms were bent at the elbow to show his hands were empty. Behind Jace, Nikki's bloody face scowled at him as she held her pistol pointed at the back of his head.

"It's all right, Athene. I got this." Nikki smiled at the Jack twins. "Now, Jace and his little cronies are going to forget all about today and whatever reason they were chasing Will for and go on their merry little way right back into town. Right Jace?"

"Do I have a choice?" Was Jace's snarky reply.

"No," was Nikki's answer. "Do we have to escort you back to town? Or maybe your guys should go back and you can stay with us until we decide to let you go?" Nikki's gun shoved Jace's head further forward. "What do you say?"

"We'll go back to town, okay? Forget about today. Is that alright with you?" Jace ground his teeth together as each word dripped with venom.

"Aerik, Athene, would you two mind?" Nikki nodded to their guns.

"We should keep these," Aerik said and picked up all the guns.

Athene released the kid she had been holding. "Considering they shot me."

"We did not," Dwight began, but stopped as he watched Athene pull the collar of her shirt down. She revealed more heavy scaling, however between two of the thickest was the smashed up remains of a bullet.

"I beg to differ." She dropped the bullet in Dwight's hands, trying to hide cold sweat breaking over the back of her neck. It was hard not to notice how far her scales had extended.

"Keep 'em! We're going okay?" Jace snapped at them all and started to pull away from Nikki. The girl let him go but she stood next to the twins. The three of them were an impenetrable force.

Jace and the other boys started to climb back up the drop off they had slid down. It took them a few minutes, but the four had disappeared over the top. Aerik had climbed up to make sure they really were going.

Aerik and Athene looked at each other while Nikki wandered over to where Demi cried over Will, who was slowly gaining his consciousness. "He'll be fine Demi. We'll take him back into town and he'll be better in no time." Nikki looked over for Aerik and Athene for help.

The twins came over and lifted Will up between the two of them. Nikki held Demi's hand and supported the crate that Will still had somewhat of a death grip on as the three walked back to the trailer.

"He better wake up soon," Aerik mumbled to himself. "I want to know why we just had to have a throw down with those punks."


	9. Chapter 9Epilogue

**_Author's Note: Thank to those who are reading this, but don't forget to hit the little review button, it doesn't take too much effort. _****_Big thanks to macrauchenia for being a great beta! Extremely sorry for the late upadte on this, but now its complete. DOnt forget to check out the sequel, Normality Within the Anarchy_**

**_I don't own the FAYZ_**

**_REVIEW!_**

* * *

**_Epilogue-Chapter 9_**

Jace and Dwight walked through the front door. Crissy was sitting on the couch, her legs crossed. "So?"

"So what?" Jace snapped.

"So how did your little hunt go?" his girlfriend asked, unfazed by his temper.

Jace's cold blue eyes met hers and all he did was scowl as he walked straight back to his bedroom and slammed the door.

"We caught up to him." Dwight shrugged and sat down. "Turned out to be Will that took the rodent. Will ran for the woods…I guess he knew those Jack twins were up there. The girl's a freak—got shot and the bullet that hit her didn't leave a mark. Her brother took me and Joey down. We had caught him but your friend, Nikki, she had caught Jace, put gun right in the back of his head." Dwight let out a jaw cracking yawn. "So here we are, empty handed and tired."

Crissy rolled her eyes and sighed. "I told him not to worry about it. Would you do me a favor, Dwight?" The tall youth nodded in reply. "Would you go to the marina, not the market, straight to the marina? The boats should be coming in soon. Ask for Lidia; she's a friend of mine—"

"Of course," Dwight interrupted her with a chuckle. "You have friends everywhere."

"Yes, I do," Crissy told him without the slightest hint of joking. "Now tell her I sent you, and that you want something good. She knows what I want." Crissy stood up and walked over to the table and picked up a purse. She rifled through it for a moment before she pulled out a small clasp wallet. "Use this. She'll expect high prices but try and haggle her down some since it won't be gutted or anything. After that, get to the market, by some good fresh vegetables, and talk to Brit at the water boilers. They'll be getting a load of firewood this morning. Buy a few logs from her."

Dwight looked at her with a dumbfound look on his face. "Who are you? Betty Crocker?"

Crissy smirked, her eyes turning cold again. "I have many talents. You should just hope I don't have to show you my more violent ones. Now go, and I'll see to Jace."

Dwight shook his tired head, but followed her orders.

Crissy sauntered into Jace's bedroom. He was lying flat on his bed with her pillow covering his face. She didn't say a word. She climbed on top of him and pulled the pillow away. Before he could say a word, she kissed him.

Jace seemed to have calmed down some when she pulled away, but the ice was still there in his eyes. "I'm going to get them back," he told her.

"I know you are," she murmured as she kissed his jaw. "What do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to kill those twins and that little kid," Jace said. "Then I'm going to break both of Will's legs."

"Mmhmmm," Crissy mumbled as she looked him straight in the eye.

"That's all you've got to say?" Jace looked up at her, a mix of anger and confusion on his face.

Crissy nodded. "I'll be there with you every step of the way," she assured him before she captured his lips again.

**~x~X~x~**

Will ached as he and Demi got back to their house. He had spent the whole morning on the Jacks' trailer, bumping along. They had offered to let him stay at their house, but he couldn't leave his. It held too many memories and all of his and Demi's stuff.

They demanded explanations, and since they saved him, he couldn't hold anything back and he gave them the whole story.

He agreed with them that he couldn't go near Jace ever again, and they didn't even know Kris. Nikki had come up with the idea that Will could make a deal with Edilio and set himself up in the army, on the days the trio would go out to get wood they would take Demi with them and Will could go to the army barracks during that time. Max would be going with Demi.

This way would work better, and he knew it would work even better if he and Demi moved into the Jack house but he couldn't.

Jack unlocked the door and Demi rushed passed him with Max under one arm. "Be careful!" Will called to the running boy before he sat down heavily on his couch. His mind a mess of groggy thoughts.

"Will?" Demi's voice was soft, and careful.

Will sighed but sat up while opening his eyes. "What's wrong big guy?"

Demi threw himself at Will, both his arms hanging on tightly to his big brother. "Thanks for saving Max."

Those four words ripped Will's heart apart, but it's what strengthened him as well. This was the whole reason he went through life, why he would stay in the FAYZ for at least seven more years, just to take care of Demi, to take care of his baby brother.

"No problem, big guy." Will hugged him back. "You know what? I think I still have that big 3-D racecar puzzle up in my closet. Brand new. Why don't you go dig it out while I make some breakfast. Then we can work on building it for a while, and then you'll let me take a nap right?" Will winked at the boy.

Demi nodded his head furiously and turned to go. If Will's head was a little bit clearer, or his heart not so pained, he might have put more thought into Demi's sudden cough and rubbing his nose.

**~x~X~x~**

Kris wandered out through the woods, trying to find his way back to the town. He didn't know how Will turned out, or how it all went down. He didn't care; he still had his skin intact. For all Kris cared, Will was strung up some tree by now.

Kris made out pretty well in this deal. Ace now had bigger fish to fry than some huffing druggie. After all, Ace's Casino was fortified against a moof that could take a bullet and still fight. That big guy was pretty good too, even without using his gun.

Kris saw a few houses in the distance. A grin broke out over his face as he started to run towards town. He was tired but he didn't care. All he had to do was get to the market, try to nab some food and find a place to settle in for a nice long nap.

His sneakers thudded on the ground as he ran down the road. A few kids were wandering, carrying weapons, their makeshift capes hanging limply at their backs. Kris ignored them. He didn't have anything they would want, he wasn't a freak, and he wasn't going to bother them so they would leave him alone.

Kris had almost made it to the market and that was when he saw some kid had somehow managed to get a hold of a wagon full of artichokes. Artichokes were a lot easier to take than cabbages, and stealing fish was nearly impossible.

Kris sidled in alongside the cart; he didn't see anyone around, and he thought he was getting lucky.

"Hey Kris," said younger girl right behind him. "Need something?"

Kris stumbled over his words for a minute trying to think of a likely excuse, but the girl, who knew him but he barely recognized, had those big blue eyes that were too nice to lie to. "How much for one of these?" he asked, dumbly pointing at the odd green vegetable.

The girl looked at him with sad eyes, frowning. "Can you help me?"

"Huh?"

"If you can help me carry this to the market and get set up I'll give you two of 'em." The girl's words were clipped and short but to the point.

Kris nodded quickly, grabbed the handle on the wagon, and started pulling the load down the street.

The girl was quiet as he wracked his brain trying to make it through the paint fumes, marker streaks, and clouds of pot that had taken up a lot of his thoughts. The girl knew him, not well, but well enough to know he was a pretty sorry excuse. She didn't know him well enough to realize how he didn't really deserve any help. He recognized those big blue eyes and that dark black cut close to her ears in a jagged, dirty bob. She looked over at him every so often over her snub nose that looked like it had been pressed flat up against her face. Her purple shirt was loose. Her cut off jean shorts…Jean. Her name was Jean.

"Thanks for letting me do this, Jean," Kris tested the name out on her.

"I was sick of carrying those things around. So no prob', Kris."

The two remained quiet until they reached the market. Jean went to an empty little corner; kids were starting to notice the fresh food supply.

"Here," she told Kris and handed him two large artichokes. "They taste best boiled but I guess you can eat them raw if you don't want them cooked."

Kris nodded her, still confused by this act of kindness and started to walk away. Kris' feet came to a complete stop when he glanced up and saw a tall youth with dark hair. Dwight. Kris wasn't completely confused by that meager act of kindness he received. He knew danger when he saw it and Dwight had danger written all over him. Kris didn't hesitate; he turned on his heels and ran straight into town until he found an empty house.

The empty house was just that, empty, a few bit of furniture, but nothing else. He was scrambling through a cupboard looking for anything resembling food when his eyes landed on a small box. His fingers trembled when he opened the lid. When he saw what was inside, he ran to a room that had his empty bed and his artichokes. He counted them all out; he didn't care what colors they were, he was happy he had just found something worth his while.

In the box were at least a dozen little cans of spray paint for model cars, and six heavy permanent markers. Kris reached in and grabbed the can. Maybe he could pass out until he turned fifteen.

**~x~X~x~**

Aerik sighed as he held his head in his hands. "All that mess over a stupid rabbit?"

"It was Demi's rabbit," Nikki scolded, her eyes glanced over at Athene nervously. It was taking longer than normal for the other girl to put her scales away.

Athene gasped as she felt the scales start to pull away from her neck. Disappearing seemingly under the layer before them.

"You alright?" Aerik sat up straighter, watching his sister.

Athene nodded, her eyes opened as she looked at them. "I think I got them now." The sleeves of Athene's shirt had been completely ripped off earlier. Now the other two watched as each row of scales retracted, one after the other.

Athene grimaced, Aerik looked on in morbid curiosity, and Nikki looked disgusted. The scales pulled down off the tops of Athene's shoulders revealing thick scars across the top.

"Athene what happened?" Nikki finally looked more concerned for Athene rather than the scales.

Athene shook her head. "I freaked the first time they shot up so high and tried cutting them off, it didn't really work, she gave the other girl a half-hearted smile. "No worries."

Finally the scales went completely under her nails at her fingertips. "Now, I'm going to try something okay?" Nikki and Aerik stood back but gave their agreements.

Athene rubbed her hands together and up her arms, over her shoulders and up her neck, the scales grew following the path of her hands. When they had reached as far as they had been a moment ago, Athene reversed the direction of her hands and the scales retracted once more. She sighed with relief. "Only once and then they behave."

"Good to know," Aerik clapped his sister on the shoulder.

Athene coughed into her fist and turned to start walking away. "Well, I'm done in. I think I'll go to bed and get some sleep now. I'm not feeling so well."

Aerik watched his sister climb the stairs to her room and then turned to see his girlfriend pale with her arms wrapped around her body. "You alright?"

Nikki nodded. "It's just the scales."

"You'll get used to them, I promise."

"It's just that. I shouldn't be so nervous around her when she does it," Nikki said frantically. "She saved my life with them. What if I have to help her someday and she has those things out and I can't even touch her? What if she gets mad at me and uses them against me? Or what if she accidently slips one day and gets me with them? I saw what she did to Jace's face and that was an _accident_, Aerik!"

"Nothing will happen, I promise," Aerik told her again while he gripped her elbows in his big hands. "Don't worry about Athene. She's as good hearted as they come, and we've led a pretty quiet life. I really doubt we'll have to change that anytime soon." He kissed her cheek. "We should probably follow her advice and get some sleep though. We've sold our wood. We don't have to make another run for a few days so we can just chill for a little while."

Nikki gave him a weak smile and walked down the hall to the guest room that she occupied while Aerik climbed the stairs to his own room. He hoped they could relax for a while. Will brought some unexpected excitement into their lives, and while thinking about Nikki's uneasiness around his sister, and while listening to Athene's coughing in the next room, Aerik really thought they could use a little bit of a routine, just a little normality.


End file.
